Experimental therapeutics is the development of treatment strategies that more effectively and specifically treat human disease with less toxicity. Research in experimental therapeutics integrates multiple disciplines in order to understand the disease from the molecular to organismal levels and then strives to apply this knowledge to identify and validate targets, discover and develop interventions or drugs to manipulate these targets, and ultimately drive preclinical and clinical studies to reach the goal of personalized medicine. Through the core curriculum, students within the program will gain a fundamental understanding of pharmacology and the important of signaling transduction pathways in human disease and the molecular mechanisms of current successful drugs. Elective courses allow students to tailor their training by obtaining additional exposure to such topics as drug design, the use of animal models, and drug delivery, including biological agents such as viruses. This program aims to train students with the skills to translate knowledge gained from basic research to clinical setting. In addition to the core curriculum, for a student to receive the transcript designation of experimental therapeutics, he/she must complete a total of 10 credit hours. Upon completion of a PhD with a distinction in experimental therapeutics, students will be well-equipped for the pursuit of careers in multiple fields including, academic research and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.