Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery

Program Activities

Research and Training

The PDD-TP has both a research component and programmatic activities intended to increase trainees' acuity in drug development. Research progress and direction will be guided by PDD-TP mentors and their collaborators through standard research meetings and exchanges. Supplemental training will also be provided for professional development in the form of a 1-credit course dedicated to PDD-TP (GRAD 610/611, Interdisciplinary Activities for Drug Discovery). Faculty mentors rotate regularly as instructors for GRAD 610 and 611, and provide oversight for designated activities.

Collaborative Research Activities (Embedding Project)

Trainees will spend several months working in another laboratory on a trans-disciplinary embedding project related to drug discovery and development, at the beginning of their second year in the program (the summer before their 5th semester). Trainees can use their research supplement to support additional characterizations or biological assays, which are often required to validate multidisciplinary research results. At the end of the embedding project, the trainee will submit a detailed report to the TPIC describing scientific advances and/or plans for its continuation. The embedding projects are expected to increase trainees' scientific perspectives on the challenges often encountered in drug development research, and to enhance the overall scientific impact of their thesis projects. Trainees are also expected to include results from their embedding project (intended as an integral part of their thesis project) in formal research presentations at professional meetings.

Dedicated Training Program Activities program-activities.PNG

The PDD-TP has several activities designed to increase trainees' aptitude for effective communication, critical thinking, management, entrepreneurism, networking, and leadership. These activities will synergize with drug discovery research efforts by complementing trainees' knowledge and practice of drug delivery with professional skills that will serve them well throughout their careers.

  • Activity 1 (Regular trainee meetings & journal club)
  • Activity 2 (Research presentations)
  • Activity 3 (Drug discovery seminars)
  • Activity 4 (Exposure to drug pipeline activities)
  • Activity 5 (Mock drug review panel)