2024-05-182024-05-18https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/714905Graduate Institute of Pharmacology was officially established in 1962. During the early period, most of the colleagues were devoted to pathological effects and action mechanisms of snake venoms under the leadership of Drs. Lee, CY, Ouyang, C, and Chang, C.C, thereby establishing a concrete academic foundation in the field of international snake venom research. Currently, we have ten full time faculty members. Our major research fields comprise several areas. 1] Cardiovascular system: (i) Utilizing conventional organ, electrophysiological and molecular cloning techniques in exploring the etiology of cardiac diseases and mechanism of action of drugs at the molecular level in order to find the potential candidates for cardiotonics and antiarrhythmia agents. (ii) Systemic study on the mechanism of actions of the anti-thrombotic agents, especially antiplatelet ones. (iii) Drug discovery in the field of anti-angiogenesis, and anti-tumor agents by investigating their effects on the proliferation and differentiation of vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle and tumor cells. Most of the above-mentioned studies are performed with natural products, synthetic compounds, and snake venom polypeptides. (iv) Identifying the appropriate pharmacological targets and agents being able to repopulate resident cardiac progenitor cells for cardiac repair. (v) Using iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes for investigating disease mechanisms, drug discovery, and cardiac toxicity screening. 2] Nervous system: (i) The pathophysiological mechanisms of several neurological or psychiatric diseases, including stroke, epilepsy, Parkisonism, Alzheimer's disease, pain, Schizophrenia, addiction, migraine, tic disorders and autism are actively explored by establishing a variety of model systems, including neuronal cultures, electrophysiological recordings using brain slices, cloning of ionic channels, and in vivo behavioral models. (ii) Drug discovery research aiming to discover the potential candidates for treatment of central disorders. 3] Immunopharmacology: (i) Signal transduction of cell death mediated by TNF receptor family, death receptors and immune inhibitory receptors. (ii) Molecular mechanisms of stress-associated cellular processes, including autophagy, ER stress, DNA damage/repair and inflammation. (iii) Innate immunity: TLRs, NLRs and inflammasome. (iv) Adaptive immunity: immune tolerance and immunosuppression. (v) Development of new therapeutics and drug discovery for the treatment of immunological diseases and cancers. 4] Cancer biology (i) Search for the potential targets for cancer therapy (ii) Investigate the molecular pathways and epigenetic regulation that lead to the tumorigenesis and metastasis (iii) Explore the signal regulating pathways and intracellular mediators leading to cell death (e.g. apoptosis, necrosis and autophagic cell death) (iv) Investigate the pharmacological mechanisms of anti-cancer agents (e.g. natural products, synthetic compounds) 5] Stem cell studies: (i) Stem cell and cancer stem cell study: The study focus on isolation and expansion of lung stem/progenitor cells and the mechanism for differentiation of the stem/progenitor cells to terminal differentiated cells, type-I pneumocytes. The study for immunoregulation of lung stem/progenitor cells in virus infection are also ongoing. For “cancer stem cell and translational medicine” studies, breast cancer stem cells had been isolated by the technique of nonadherent mammosphere formation culture and the drug-resistant mechanism of the breast cancer stem cell will be focused . (ii) Cell-therapy and regeneration medicine study: In the study, we had successfully identified and expanded mesenchymal stem cells from human placenta tissue. The study focuses on the applications for the cells in severe disease model, such as ALI/ARDS, and the immunoregulational potential of the cells. Although each principal investigator has the individual interest and specialty, we are open-minded and actively seeking for opportunities to cooperate with other researchers in order to synergistically achieve the integrated breakthrough in the future. Graduate students are required to attend many inspiring seminars of special topics twice a week. Experimental pharmacology is designed for the special introduction of the ideas and concepts and the basic experimental skills developed by our laboratories. Of course, a creative thesis is the most critical task for graduation. Through these intense trainings, graduate students are expected to be capable of continuing their career either as an independent thinking, problem-solving and creative researcher or as a practitioner of pharmacological sciences.一、歷史沿革 自 1899『台灣總督府醫學校』成立到 1919 改稱為『台灣總督府醫學專門學校』期間，藥物學課程一直由日籍教師擔任。1914 年杜聰明自台灣總督府醫學校畢業，1915 年負笈日本京都帝國大學醫科大學內科學，1916 年續進入藥理學教室，在森島庫太教授指導下研究生​物鹼藥理學；1921 年 10 月學位在望，返台受命為醫專助教授並開創藥理學教室；於 1922 年 12 月 16 日正式取得醫學博士，為台灣史上第一人。​​1928 年杜博士自歐洲留學回國，指導醫專畢業之邱賢添，研究論文獲日本京都大學醫學博士學位，自此，前來藥​理學教室者日眾；此期間，在藥理學教室從事研究​​工作之醫專及台北帝大醫學部畢業生發表三百多篇論文，近四十人獲醫學博士，包括李鎮源與彭明聰 (1945 年)。1937 年杜博士被任命為台北帝大藥理學講座，同年藥理學館 (臨徐州路) 竣​工，歷半世紀直至藥理學科搬遷到基礎醫學大樓 (1986 年)。1945 年日本投降，杜聰明任台大醫學院兼第一附屬醫院院長及熱帶醫學研究所所長。1947 年教育部核准生理學研究所 (生理、藥理、生化三組) 招收碩士班研究生，1962 年藥理學研究所與生理學研究所分別獨立招生，於1967 年核准成立博士班。 二、學術研究 所內教師研究領域涵蓋 (1) 心血管：藉由疾病動物及器官模式、電生理、分生技術等來研發抗不整脈、心衰竭、糖尿病、心臟及腎臟纖維化藥物；此外探討血小板凝集機理，內皮細胞、平滑肌、纖維母細胞增生或分化研究，研究抗血栓、血管新生、腫瘤、動脈硬化等藥物。(2) 神經退化疾病：包括中風、失憶症、疼痛、癲癇、巴金森氏症等主題，建立腦切片電生理和行為記憶活體模式，並篩選中樞藥物。(3) 免疫藥理：包括先天性免疫受體、胞內訊息傳遞、壓力反應相關之分子機轉探討，如自體自噬、先天免疫與疾病的關聯、適應性免疫及免疫檢查點之探討，建立並發展對抗免疫疾病、感染疾病及癌症之新治療方針與新藥、疫苗。(4) 癌症：探討腫瘤生成及轉移之分子機轉，抗癌藥物之藥理機制，DNA受損反應等，進而尋找有效之標靶治療及新藥發展。(5) 幹細胞：分離及培養幹細胞及癌幹細胞，探討幹細胞分化之機制及應用細胞治療於再生醫學，並且探討癌幹細胞造成腫瘤抗藥性之機轉，進而發展癌症治療之策略。上述研究除基礎機制之藥理研究外，新藥開發也是研究重點，包括合成之化合物、中草藥成分、蛇毒蛋白、細胞治療及非編碼核醣核酸。藉由各教師與相關領域專家學者之合作，切入細胞生理與訊息傳遞機制，從分子層面解析細胞乃至於系統生物體，冀望有重大突破及豐碩成果。 研究生從專題報告、實驗藥理、藥理學特論課程，學習各老師研究專長和計劃構想，期盼多元訓練獨立思考與解析問題能力，以全面提昇科技水平。Academic Institute