Research Guides: Biomedical and Basic Sciences Research: Pharmacology and Toxicology

Key Resources for Your Department

American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
Founded in 1986, the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) is a professional, scientific organization of approximately 7,000 individual members and over 10,000 actively participating stakeholders employed in academia, industry, government, and other pharmaceutical science related research institutes worldwide.
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP)
ACNP is a non-profit, professional society dedicated to advancing the scientific understanding of and facilitating communication about disorders of the brain and behavior in order to advance their prevention and treatment.
The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
ASPET is a 5,000 member scientific society whose members conduct basic and clinical pharmacological research and work for academia, government, large pharmaceutical companies, small biotech companies, and non-profit organizations.
International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology
Founded in 1959 as a section of the International Union of Physiological Sciences, the International Union of Pharmacology became independent in September, 1965. The name was changed to the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology in 2006 to better reflect the composition of the membership.
Society of Toxicology (SOT)
SOT is a professional and scholarly organization of scientists from academic institutions, government, and industry representing the great variety of scientists who practice toxicology in the US and abroad. The Society’s mission is to create a safer and healthier world by advancing the science and increasing the impact of toxicology.

Popular resources used to search for protocols:

Springer Nature Experiments
This collection of over 20,000 life sciences and biomedical protocols includes 3500+ protocols relating to qualitative research, large datasets, and epidemiology. Because of its size, we recommend searching this collection first for protocols.
Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE)
Peer-reviewed scientific video journal. Searching for specific technologies (RNASeq, siRNA transfection, etc.) may yield useful results.
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Try our research guide for experimental protocols
SAGE Research Methods
Over 1,000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos on every step of the research process for beginner to expert researchers.

The following are some basic videos that you may find helpful. Please note that the resources provided on this page are not a substitute for speaking with a trained scientist on how to properly perform these procedures.

JoVE Science Education: Basic Lab Techniques
The Journal of Visualized Experiments offers a series of videos of basic laboratory techniques.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
How to set up, run, and troubleshoot basic PCR reactions. See this animated video for a quick explanation of how PCR works.
Plating methods (Aseptic technique)
This video demonstrates streak plating, pour plating, spread-plating, soft agar overlay, replica plating, and clean up. The entire video is ~18 minutes long, but it's easy to skip to sections of interest.
Gel Electrophoresis
This video shows you how to perform gel electrophoresis while offering an explanation of how it works.

The following are a selection of e-books available through VCU Libraries. Unless otherwise noted, e-books are restricted to 1 user at a time.

Fundamentals of Toxicology by P. K. Gupta
ISBN: 9780128054031
Publication Date: 2016-08-26
Fundamentals of Toxicology: Essential Concepts and Applications provides a crisp, easy-to-understand overview of the most important concepts, applications, and ideas needed to learn the basics of toxicology.
Lu's basic toxicology : fundamentals, target organs, and risk assessment
ISBN: 9781315391687
Publication Date: 2018
Pharmacology by George M. Brenner; Craig W Stevens
ISBN: 0323391729
Publication Date: 2018
Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology Vol. 174
ISBN: 3319787748
Publication Date: 2018
Stem Cell-Derived Models in Toxicology
ISBN: 1493966618
Publication Date: 2017
Stoelting's pharmacology and physiology in anesthetic practice. by Steven L. Shafer; James P Rathmell; Robert K Stoelting
ISBN: 9781451154474
Publication Date: 2015

Most print books related to health behavior and policy are available in the "R" section at the Health Sciences Library. The following is a selection of books that are part of VCU Libraries' physical collection. If there is a book that you love, that is not in our collection, please email Stacey Wahl, Ph.D. to inquire about adding it to the collection at HSL

Symptoms and Signs of Substance Misuse by Margaret Stark; Jason Payne-James; Michael Scott-Ham
Call Number: Health Sciences Library General Collection RC564 .S74 2015
ISBN: 9781444181746
Publication Date: 2014-09-16
The misuse of both legally prescribed and illegally supplied drugs is now so widespread that it affects, either directly or indirectly, a high proportion of the population, impacting many areas of daily life.
Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences with Patient Care Correlations by Reza Karimi
Call Number: Health Sciences Library General Collection RM301.5 .B558 2015
ISBN: 9781449621087
Publication Date: 2014-02-12
Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences with Patient Care Correlations provides a solid foundation in the areas of science that pharmacy students most need to understand to succeed in their education and career.
Principles of Pharmacology by David E. Golan
Call Number: Health Sciences Library General Collection RM301 .P65 2017
ISBN: 9781451191004
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
Highly regarded by both students and instructors, Principles of Pharmacology: The Pathophysiologic Basis of Drug Therapy, 4th Edition, offers an integrated mechanism-based and systems-based approach to contemporary pharmacology and drug development.
Core Concepts in Pharmacology by Leland Norman Holland; Michael Patrick Adams; Jeanine Brice
Call Number: Health Sciences Library General Collection RM301.14 .H655 2018
ISBN: 9780134514161
Publication Date: 2017-01-05
By its very nature, pharmacology is a challenging interdisciplinary subject that requires understanding concepts from a wide variety of the natural and applied sciences to predict drug action. For this reason, authors Holland, Adams, and Brice have organised Core Concepts in Pharmacology according to body systems and diseases, placing drugs in the context of their therapeutic use.
Goodman and Gilman's the Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 13th Edition by Randa Hilal-Dandan; Bjorn Knollman; Laurence Brunton
Call Number: Health Sciences Library General Collection RM300 .G644 2018
ISBN: 9781259584732
Publication Date: 2017-12-05
The most universally respected and read text in all of pharmacology - updated with the latest breakthroughs and developments.

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