Activities
In general, IUPHAR offers individual pharmacologists free curriculum expertise, career development and job listings (the non-profit PharmacoCareers.org), research resources, and collaboration opportunities. IUPHAR offers its member societies venues for participating in world-wide initiatives, publicizing member meetings and activities, nominating individuals for Young Investigator awards, and naming delegates to the General Assemblies. For examples, visit the biannual newsletter entitled, Pharmacology International at http://www.iuphar.org/pubs_newsletter.html .
A primary purpose of IUPHAR is providing global free access to a major, on-line repository of characterization data for receptors, ion channels and drugs through the Committee on Receptor Nomenclature and Drug Classification (NC-IUPHAR), which was established in 1987. This database is an integral part of the Guide for Pharmacology, a joint endeavor with the British Pharmacological Society, at http://www.GuideToPharmacology.org. The database includes all the G protein-coupled receptors, voltage-gated ion channels, 7TM receptors, nuclear receptors and, shortly, ligand-gated ion channels which are known to be in the human genome. Where relevant, data on the rat and mouse homologues are presented to assist researchers and clinicians in developing and/or enhancing therapeutics for eventual medication for humans.
NC-IUPHAR also promulgates standards of name nomenclature for research in pharmacology and the related disciplines.
As a non-government organization in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), IUPHAR representatives help shape international policy on essential medicines, appropriate dose therapeutics for children, and clinical pharmacology core competencies among its many WHO-related activities.
The Division of Clinical Pharmacology compiled and released the Research in Humans Compendium, a free resource to provide the scientific community interested in human research with an easy-to-use reference on how to design a research protocol to assess the effectiveness of a drug in a series of pathological conditions.
An important aspect of IUPHAR is the development of pharmacology in developing countries. In conjunction with the International Council for Science, the Pharmacology for Africa (PharfA) initiative was undertaken in 2006 to promote and organize pharmacology on the African continent. The South African Society of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology is building a database and network of institutions and pharmacologists to create an infrastructure for training and funding pharmacologists. The long-term goal is for the African continent to attain the necessary pharmacological knowledge and resources to address the disease-related issues affecting the population.
Read more about this topic: International Union Of Basic And Clinical Pharmacology
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—Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925)
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“There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)