Have you heard of pharmacology?

Pharmacologists are scientists who are fascinated by medicines. We work in the area of science called pharmacology and we study how medicines work on the body. This is different to a pharmacist, who prepares, gives out and advises people about medicines that are already available.​

Pharmacologists make a difference to the lives of people every day. You can find pharmacology everywhere: when you visit the dentist and have an injection to numb your mouth, or when you take medicine for a headache. Pharmacology is responsible for creating hayfever tablets, antibiotics and even cups of tea and coffee! ​

Without pharmacologists we wouldn’t be able to:

• Discover new medicines to help fight diseases​

• Improve their effectiveness and reduce unwanted side effects ​

• Understand why some medicines work better for some people than others​

• Understand why some drugs cause addiction​

If you are a budding scientific explorer who wants to make a difference in the world, a career in pharmacology could be for you.

Some other questions to think about: ​

• What difference does pharmacology make?​
• What is it like being a pharmacologist?