History of the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Pharmacology and toxicology have been taught at the University of Louisville School of Medicine since its founding in 1837. Professors of pharmacology and toxicology originally had titles such as "materia medica' or "medical chemistry". The Department was identified as "Physiology and Pharmacology" in 1909; "Pharmacology" in 1941; and its current name "Pharmacology and Toxicology" in 1978. The graduate program was established in 1954 and an NIH training grant awarded in 2004.
Society of Toxicology's Department History
Kee Chang Huang Award and Graduate Fellowships, KC Huang Resolution
Peter K. Knoefel Endowed Chair, Peter K. Knoefel Resolution
William J. Waddell Seminar Series
1950 Laboratory Course in Pharmacology and Toxicology
Chairs of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine
Important dates in department history:
1798: Founding of the University of Louisville
1837: Founding of the School of Medicine; Pharmacology taught as "Materia Medica"
1909: Founding of the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology; Henry A. Cottell, MD appointed Department Chair
1914: Virgil E. Simpson, MD appointed Department Chair
1923: Henry G. Barbour, MD appointed Department Chair
1933: George E. Wakerlin, MD, PhD appointed Department Chair
1941: Founding of a separate Department of Pharmacology; Peter K. Knoefel, MD appointed Department Chair
1954: Founding of the pharmacology graduate program
1958: First PhD in pharmacology awarded to James W. Fisher
1969: Thomas D. Darby, PhD appointed Department Chair
1974: Edward A. Carr Jr., MD appointed Department Chair
1977: William J. Waddell, MD appointed Department Chair
1978: Department name and graduate program changed to Pharmacology and Toxicology
1982: Department hosts the joint fall meeting of the American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and the Society of Toxicology.
1997: David W. Hein, PhD - appointed Department Chair
1998: University of Louisville bicentennial
2001: One hundredth graduate of the pharmacology and toxicology program
2004: NIH T32 predoctoral training grant awarded
2009: NIH T32 training grant renewed and expanded to include both predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships
2009: Two hundredth graduate of the pharmacology and toxicology program
2011: NCI Cancer Education Program grant awarded
2014: PhD program partnership initiated with Wenzhou Medical University
2015: PhD program partnership initiated with Cairo University
2015: PhD program partnership initiated with Jilin University
2015: Department Administrative Office moved from 13th floor of Research Tower to 1st floor of Kosair Charities Clinical and Translational Research Building
2016: NIH T32 training grant renewed for additional five years
2017: PhD program partnership initiated with Ain Shams University
2017: NCI Cancer Education Program grant renewed for additional five years
2017: Graduates of the pharmacology and toxicology program exceeds 300
2020: University of Louisville Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences funded for five years
2021: NIEHS T32 training grant renewed for additional five years