Testimonials
Hear what our past students have to say about the benefits of having a Pharmacology Minor.
"Having a pharmacology minor sets me apart from my other biochemistry peers. In all honesty, I feel that having a background in pharmacology has better prepared me for my core biochemistry classes. I have a better understanding of cellular and biological mechanisms that I would not have received by just taking biochemistry. Additionally, because of the instructor rotation, I have been able to meet the entire pharmacology department and get a sense of what they're researching. Medicinal Chemistry [(PHRM 328, now Principless of Drug Discovery] with professor Dostmann was one of the best classes I have taken in my undergraduate career. The minor is also advantageous when applying to pharmaceutical companies, which is also a booming business. It's also great for applying to medical school."
Brendan Miller, 2012 Pharmacology Minor graduate
"I think the pharmacology minor was one of the most beneficial course series I have taken at UVM… One of the best parts of the pharmacology minor was the professors. Something I enjoyed, was how each professor would teach a lecture on something in their area of study. This promotes in depth understanding of each system in the body and allows for one-on-one interaction with many of the professors in the pharmacology department. This is really great because, personally, I felt like I was more than just a student, more like I was being mentored by each of the faculty individually. The last aspect, I think, is the most important and is lacking elsewhere on the educational road… Each and every professor was approachable and supportive, which, for me, made me feel very comfortable and allowed for out of classroom interactions… Thanks for a great couple years”
Alex Temple, 2012 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“The classes that I took through the Pharmacology Department were definitely some of the most interesting and useful courses I took at UVM. The wide range of topics covered and the knowledge I gained gave me a greater understanding of biomedical science. The classes I took for the Pharmacology minor have made me the most prepared for a future career in science. I would definitely recommend the Pharmacology minor to anyone thinking about a job in the biochemical and biomedical sciences. This minor gave me an edge when applying for graduate school. Next year, I will be staring my first year at Vanderbilt University in their Biomedical and Biological Integrated Graduate Program where I hope to continue my studies in Pharmacology....I can already tell that the pharmacology classes will be the most useful in my studies here [at Vanderbilt]”
Megan Quinlan, 2012 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“Overall, I thought the Pharm minor was a great experience. The courses were extremely interesting, challenging, and taught me a lot of valuable information that I would have never learned in other classes. … Even though I have only worked at Harvard for a month I have been learning so much about stem cells and the heart on a molecular level. However, I feel like I had a huge advantage due to molecular and cell pharmacology (PHRM 290). My co-workers were impressed that I knew a lot about different receptors/channels on cells along with channelopathies.... transcription factors etc, etc. I feel like that class is extremely important for student who wants to go into research at a tech or grad level.”
Kathryn Morelli, 2011 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“Completing the pharm minor provided an opportunity to understand important drugs, their mechanisms of action, and key targets. This program was the closest link to clinical medicine offered by UVM. It has certainly led to many in depth conversations with physicians, medical students, professors and grad students. I feel much more prepared for medical school and for being a physician. I believe that Pharm 201 and Pharm 290 were two of the most influential and important classes offered by the Department. I use much of the information provided by these courses in my experiments and in understanding papers and seminars.”
Nicole Maille, 2011 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“The Pharmacology Minor for me has been a really excellent compliment and supplement to my Biochemistry major. In many cases, including mine, it seems that one of the largest fields of occupation and one of great interest to biochem majors is pharmacology, and the pharmaceutical industry. In my case, it was something that I had in mind, but wasn't exactly sure what the studies leading up to it would entail. Since my decision to take the necessary courses and lab work for the minor I have realized that it quickly opened up a completely different avenue of research, and was provided with excellent skills to apply to future applications....I can verify the sampling of material in the pharm minor has made the transition into many of my grad classes [Toxicology Ph.D. program at UCONN] a lot easier. The Pharm 201, Intro Pharm classes went over the majority of the material that will be in my qualifier which I take in January.”
Greg Smith, 2011 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“As a student planning on going into medical school the pharmacology minor has provided me with invaluable experience. The knowledge of drug mechanism of action, disease states, drug development, kinetics, etc.. have all been incredibly useful and inspirational in terms of my career path. … I've been shadowing in the hospital recently and I was shocked to find out that I knew drug mechanisms almost as well as the doctors…. The pharmacology minor has given me so much knowledge regarding the field of medicine that I truly feel prepared for medical school in a way that I don't think would be possible without the minor. I think that anyone interested in medicine should at least take Introduction to Pharmacology and Topics in Cellular Pharmacology, if not declare the minor. Overall, it is an amazing program and I would recommend it to anyone interested in health....I'm currently working at Mass General Hospital Cancer Center in the lab of Daniel Haber. We work a lot with circulating tumor cells in the blood, and I'm also working on a somewhat unrelated project characterizing resistance mechanisms of targeted therapies in EGFR addicted lung cancers. It's really nice to be able to talk to the post-docs closer to their level. I'm shocked that all premeds don't take advantage of that program..."
Kyle Concannon, 2011 Pharmacology Minor graduate
"I really think I have benefited from the pharm minor and I've enjoyed all of the classes. I really enjoyed biochemistry, and I feel like pharmacology is really the human application of it. I am going to be applying to medical school, but I believe that undergraduate pharmacology would be a huge help to anyone pursuing a career in the health sciences. It is also a huge help to people who can't get into a 'physiology' course, because you are exposed to probably everything you would get there. I have also really appreciated the encouragement and support everyone in pharmacology seems to offer undergrads- in pharm classes I felt like I was treated not just as a student but as a colleague, which I don't think can be said about other classes. I really enjoyed the pharm special topics class [PHRM 305] too, and I think it really helped with my presentation skills. I am going to be working in a neurology lab at UVM this summer, and will be applying to medical school. Thanks again for all of your help!...I am now at UVM COM as a first year med student."
Sean Bullis, 2011 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“The Pharmacology Minor has been very beneficial in my academics studies; it has paralleled my major (Biochemistry) in several aspects, as well as provided me with knowledge in the continually growing research and pharmaceutical worlds. The courses are extremely informative since each lecture is designed to be taught by an expert in their field of study, whether it be from calcium channel signaling to toxicological effects of carbon monoxide. The minor has further allowed me to explore undergraduate research from an early start; an appealing option for students looking to get hands-on experience in a lab during their time at UVM. … My future plans include becoming involved in more research as a laboratory technician and medical school later on, and I know the minor will help me in these future endeavors. I've found the minor to be an overall wonderful experience, and was really glad I discovered it.”
Kelly Harmon, 2010 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“I felt like the pharmacology minor was beneficial to me in a couple ways. It was a great experience to have professors associated with the medical school and the pharmacology department teach the courses. Additionally, the teaching style where different people lecture on different topics was a great way to be exposed to many different teaching styles. And, altogether, I felt like the pharmacology courses were the most graduate-like courses I took while at UVM. The minor also exposed me to the field of pharmacology which I really knew almost nothing about prior to getting the minor. My whole understanding on how drugs interact with the body and the types of drugs that exist was changed to a much more intellectual and academic oriented stand-point. Our culture is becoming so oriented around drugs to treat any symptom - no matter how minor, that this knowledge is incredibly valuable. Finally, the minor integrated very well with my biochemistry coursework. I feel like I have a huge advantage over non-pharmacology-minor science majors because I learned so much about human physiology and drug interactions - which I don’t think I would have ever been exposed to outside of the minor course work....Grad school at UC Irvine is a great experience. I've joined a neuro-physiology lab (Sunil Gandhi's) that is looking at mechanisims that control period plasticity. We are using an exciting technique involving live awake two photon in vivo imaging of neurons in mice."
Ethan Hathaway, 2010 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“Getting a minor in pharmacology opened my eyes to an entirely new field of science that was interesting, challenging, and intellectually stimulating. It is a field that explores pathways, diseases, and possible drug targets for treatment. It has been beneficial because it either introduced new topics or went into more depth on topics covered in my other biological science classes such as biochemistry and human disease… Pharmacology has also influenced my chosen field in the future: next year I will be working in biochemistry laboratories at graduate school that integrate pharmacology into their research. I am attending graduate school at UC Riverside and I am going to pursue a PhD in Biochemistry… I am also exploring the possibility of switching into a Pharmacology PhD program. …the classes were well structured and most of the teachers are passionate about what they teach so the classes were always interesting. It is rare that a class taught by so many professors would be both organized and interesting but somehow the pharm department mastered it! It was hard work but worth it in the end! I also like how the minor is flexible on how to fill the last 6 credits (after Pharm 201, 272, and 290 are taken)....I found the pharmacology minor to be both interesting and useful in my career.”
Jackie Hubbard, 2010 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“Hi Dr. Wellman! It's Christina- I worked in your lab last semester.. I first became interested in pharmacology when working as an EMT, and wanted to know more about the drugs we were administering and the actual molecular physiology of how they worked. I began the Pharmacology minor, and many of my questions were answered. It was evident that the professors for the courses had a genuine interest in the subject area, making learning the material that much easier for all of us students. The courses cemented my future plans to work in healthcare, and I feel that they gave me a better understanding of the drugs I may soon be prescribing…I am now in my first semester of PA [Physician Assistant at the University of Idaho] school, and I really wanted to tell you that the Pharmacology minor at UVM is INCREDIBLE. Granted, it is only week two, but we are covering the same topics that we did in a lot of the classes for Pharmacology at UVM. It is making my work load a lot less, having all this material as review, and just wanted to thank all the pharmacology teachers for their awesome-ness. Thanks again”
Christina Thurston, 2010 Pharmacology Minor graduate
“My pharmacology minor has been a huge benefit for me in that it has helped connect the dots between my biochemistry background and how it all can be applied to physiology and medicine. After graduation I will be working at Dartmouth as a lab technician. My research will be on Prions and I am very excited about this because this lab seems to be one of the best in the country for the subject matter… I especially like the fact that graduate level courses are available to undergrads in the discipline….I feel the pharm program was the most beneficial part of my training at UVM.”
Dan Walsh, 2010 Pharmacology Minor graduate