The PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology aims to provide the PhD students with the theoretical and practical bases to prepare for a research career in Molecular, Cellular and Behavioral Pharmacology and Toxicology, as well as to tackle, at the experimental and regulatory level, pharmaco-toxicological problems concerning the exposure to natural and synthetic substances. These aims are pursued through the active participation of the student in research projects carried out at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology “V. Erspamer” of Sapienza University of Rome and, when possible, in other Centers including International centers involved in scientific collaborations with Sapienza University. PhD students will acquire autonomous ability to plan, propose and implement basic and applied research projects. In addition, they will acquire critical assessment capabilities for experimental protocols, guidelines and standard operating procedures. The skills acquired in the PhD program contribute to the training of young researchers who can meet the needs of both national and international public and private structures. The possible employment opportunities are represented by the inclusion in the University, in public and private research centers and in the pharmaceutical industry. Students enrolled in the Program are required to spend in the laboratory to which they have been assigned most of the time required for the research work necessary to develop their doctoral thesis, under the supervision of their Academic Tutor. The cultural training of doctoral students consists of an educational activity consisting of cycles of lectures and seminars held by professors of the doctorate, by other professors of Sapienza University and by external experts. Students will be encuraged to spend parft of their research activity in a qualified laboratory abroad, for a period of time that cannot exceed 18 months. In this way the students will have an opportunity to learn new technics, to experience different approaches to medical and biological research, to establish working relationships that will be useful in their future career, and to become fluent in a foreign language. The Doctorate ends with the writing of a thesis, discussed publicly in the presence of the Academic tutors and members of Italian and/or foreign Universities.