The department has 13 full-time teaching/research faculty committed to performance of state-of-the-art research and training professional students in Pharmacology and Toxicology . The research interests of the faculty are diverse including: molecular toxicology, biochemical and behavioral studies of drug abuse, autonomic pharmacology, molecular pharmacology, neurohormonal communication, biophysical aspects of drug/macromolecule interactions, electrophysiology, and signal transduction.

Teaching programs address the needs of graduate, medical, and dental students at the Medical Center. The department also has outreach education efforts with local high schools, colleges, and universities.

The department typically has 15 to 20 graduate students pursuing the doctoral degree.