Pharmacologists investigate how drugs and chemicals interact with biological systems. Pharmacologists aim to understand how drugs work so they can be used effectively and safely. They also carry out research to aid drug discovery and development. Pharmacologists may develop biological tests, either in cellular or tissue systems or in whole animals, to identify new medicines. They may design tests to establish whether a new compound might produce side effects.
Areas of specialism include clinical pharmacology, neuropharmacology and regulatory pharmacology. Related occupations include toxicology, biochemistry and pharmacokinetics. As with many research-based roles, the work involves a high level of collaboration with other scientists. Most pharmacologists carry out work analyzing the effects of drugs on cells, animals, humans or the environment, and advocating appropriate drug usage.
Much of the work is laboratory-based, as part of a scientific research team, and includes the following activities: designing, planning and conducting controlled experiments to improve their understanding of a compound's activity using computers, high technology measuring systems and other sophisticated equipment to collect, analyze and interpret complex data; applying and developing the results of research to work through a variety of applications, such as new products, processes, techniques and practices.
Awareness of other pharmacological research is important. Pharmacologists are also concerned with disseminating the results of their work to others, which may involve: reading specialist literature - being aware of scientific developments and how you might apply them to research, sharing the results of your work with colleagues and team members in group meetings, writing original papers based on your findings for submission to specialist publications.
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