The Program in Toxicology trains students to become independent future scientists in the areas of Oncology and Molecular Pathology, Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy of Drug Dependence and Food and Environmental Toxicology.
Graduates of our program are prepared to conduct research, teach, and provide technical support to state, and local governments, industry, and public interest groups in areas including the evaluation and testing of harmful effects of chemical, physical, and biological agents on living organisms; mechanisms of toxicity; prevention of chemical induced diseases; chemical risk assessment,and environmental protection through governmental regulations for the control and monitoring of hazardous chemicals.
The Program is housed within the Department of Toxicology, which has a full-time graduate program faculty of 35. An additional 3 faculty from other Universities are active members of the Graduate Program, bringing the total number of graduate program faculty to 38.
These faculty provide a wide range of research opportunities for addressing research questions at a wide variety of experimental levels, ranging from whole animal responses to specific drugs and toxins, to the structural and molecular basis of gene expression of specific receptors.
The following are themes currently under investigation:

• Molecular mechanisms controlling cell death and cell proliferation
• Mechanisms underlying tissue homeostatis
• Mechanisms responsible for nuclear receptor-mediated proliferation in different organs
• Polymorphisms associated to development and progression of human lung, colon and thyroid cancer
• Tissue plasticity of adult bone marrow stem cells
• Development of antineoplastic drugs
• Experimental Hepatocarcinogenesis
• Molecular mechanisms involved in the effects of addictive substances on brain neurotransmission.
• Molecular and cellular changes in the CNS of animals in response to chronic administration of therapeutic agents or drugs of abuse.
• Characterization of the neurodegenerative effects of psychostimulants
• Identification of genetic factors that influence the responses to drugs and the individual vulnerability to substance addiction.
• Characterization of the neural substrates of drug addiction co-morbidity in animal models of psychiatric disorders
• Analysis of the role of neurotransmitter receptors in learning processes involved in drug addiction.
• Design and development of novel and more effective treatments for addiction
• Synthetic and natural xenobiotics in environmental and food matrices
• Natural compounds as antioxidants
• Bioactive compounds of natural origin and their use in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic chemistry
• Food safety: mycotoxins and bacterial pollution

The program operates on a three years time (minimum). Vacations normally include a short break over the Christmas holidays and another longer one during the summer.