You'll gain a sound understanding of how the human body functions in healthy and diseased states, barriers to health care, and methods for treatment. This degree could lead to careers in designing medicines to alleviate symptoms or vaccines to prevent diseases, or impacting public health policy.

Pharmacology

As a student majoring in Pharmacology you'll learn how common drugs target specific receptors in body tissues, exerting effects as either agonists or antagonists. You will also explore the major biochemical pathways that are activated when drugs interact with their respective receptors. Other key topics include pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism, drug dependence, toxicology, pharmacogenomics and drug discovery. 

This major provides an appreciation of how drugs produce changes in such key bodily functions as blood pressure, lung performance or pain perception. Since pharmacology is a very practical area of science, theoretical concepts from lectures are reinforced and expanded upon during regular laboratory classes. You'll be taught by leading lecturers who are actively engaged in modern biomedical research.

UWA graduates in Pharmacology have pursued a number of pathways including research in a hospital (diagnostic or research lab), employment in a pharmaceutical industry (research or commercial setting), clinical trials coordinators, state or federal regulatory agencies with oversight for drug use, science education (secondary or tertiary sector) and vocational study. As with most other biomedical disciplines, the prospects of satisfying employment are enhanced by completing an honours or higher degree.