Cardiovascular Pharmacology
Research using advanced imaging and electrophysiological techniques to examine the cellular and intracellular mechanisms of the heart and microcirculation
Read moreWelcome to Pharmacology
The Department of Pharmacology is one of the pre-clinical science departments that form part of the University’s Medical Sciences Division and is focused on basic life sciences research, undergraduate teaching for medicine and biomedical sciences students and the training and development of graduate students.
Latest News
Modernized Oxford anti-arrhythmic drug classification gains global recognition as the new standard in antiarrhythmic drug clinical guidelines
12 May 2025
Cardiac arrhythmias pose a serious global health challenge. The commonest sustained arrhythmia atrial fibrillation (AF) affects 1–2% of the worldwide population. Antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) remain central to their pharmacotherapeutic management. As a solution, Professors Ming Lei, Derek Terrar (both Pharmacology), Christopher Huang (University of Cambridge), and Lin Wu (Beijing University Hospital) developed and proposed the 2018 Oxford modernized antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) classification (Circulation, 2018;138:1879–1896).
Top of the QS World University Rankings for Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2019-2021
Founded in 1898
20 research groups
50+ graduate students
Research
The Department of Pharmacology is at the forefront of research into the effects of drugs and other molecules on biological systems with a view to understanding the mechanisms of the human body. Pre-clinical research in the Department aims to examine cellular and molecular pathways in living systems as the first step towards a greater understanding of disease and effective treatment.
Teaching
Academic staff in the Department lead lectures, seminars and tutorials for undergraduate students on the Medicine and Biomedical Sciences courses. The Department also hosts an internationally-renowned one-year MSc taught course in Pharmacology and has a community of around 40 DPhil students.