The research areas of the Department of Pharmacology are predominantly split between laboratory and non-laboratory focus areas. Please ensure that you peruse the information below appropriately as we cannot accommodate non-research focus area-related research given infrastructure, expertise, and funding constraints. We thus highly advise that candidates do not apply for any research focus area without having sufficient understanding of what the research involves to avoid disappointment. Should information be needed beyond this, please make sure to contact the respective postgraduate coordinator (for general queries) or the research leaders (for queries related to the research itself).
Candidates with interests outside of these research focus areas are welcome to contact the respective postgraduate programme coordinators to inquire about other possibilities. Although non-cost bearing projects are more likely to be feasible, it will also be dependent on whether there is sufficient expertise and/or interest from potential supervisors of such projects.
Laboratory research areas
The following research focus areas are conducted primarily in the laboratory setting, and thus students’ projects will be overtly laboratory-based and involve technical experimentation. The amount and type of laboratory work is dependent on the research focus area, and thus more information can be found in each research focus area’s specific webpage. We request that all interested parties peruse the information properly to streamline decision-making and communication. Not all research focus areas are available at each postgraduate programme level, and vacancies are not always guaranteed. Please ensure that you check in the table below and in the respective webpages. An asterisk (*) at the postgraduate programme indicates unique circumstances that are elaborated on the focus area’s webpage.
| Research focus | Relevant postgraduate programmes | Vacancies for the upcoming year |
| Dormancy, proliferation and chemoresistance in triple-negative breast cancer multicellular spheroids | BSc.Hons | Yes |
| MSc | Yes | |
| PhD | Yes | |
| Cancer metastasis: Insights from cytoskeletal dynamics, in silico molecular modelling and drug design and phytomedicine | BSc.Hons* | Yes |
| MSc | Yes | |
| PhD | Yes | |
| Pharmacogenomics of first-line antiretrovirals | MSc | No |
| PhD | No | |
| Quantitation of drugs of interest in breast milk | BSc.Hons | No |
| MSc | Yes | |
| PhD | No | |
| Effect of snakebite envenoming on blood cell ultrastructure and coagulation in humans | MSc* | Please confirm with the research leader |
| PhD* |
Non-laboratory research areas
The following research focus areas are conducted in settings outside of the laboratory, and thus students’ projects will be variable and dependent on the research focus area’s unique setting. This may involve, among others, hospitals, patients, healthcare practitioners, literature repositories or non-laboratory settings. More information can be found in each research focus area’s specific webpage. We request that all interested parties peruse the information properly to streamline decision-making and communication. Not all research focus areas are available at each postgraduate programme level, and vacancies are not always guaranteed. Please ensure that you check in the table below and in the respective webpages. An asterisk (*) at the postgraduate programme indicates unique circumstances that are elaborated on the focus area’s webpage.
| Research focus | Relevant postgraduate programmes | Vacancies for the upcoming year |
| Healthcare professional pharmacological competency needs, development, and education | BSc.Hons | Yes |
| MSc | Yes | |
| PhD | Yes | |
| Regulatory landscape of phytomedicine: Indigenous knowledge systems | BSc.Hons | Yes |
| MSc | Yes | |
| PhD | Yes | |
| Infectious diseases | MSc | Please confirm with the research leader |
| PhD | Please confirm with the research leader | |
| Pharmacogenomics of first-line antiretrovirals | MSc | No |
| PhD | No |
Pharmacological research dedicated to medical practitioners only
The following research focus areas are only available to students that have a medical degree, and thus non-medical practitioners should not apply for this area. Given the nature of the research focus area, project types and data collection instruments are heavily dependent on the field that the candidate is interested in. More information can be found in each research focus area’s specific webpage. We request that all interested parties peruse the information properly to streamline decision-making and communication.