Pharmacology is the scientific discipline that studies the mechanisms by which drugs alter biological systems in an attempt to improve health and alleviate disease, whereas toxicology is the study of mechanisms by which drugs and chemicals in the environment produce unwanted effects. Together these disciplines encompass the molecular basis of drug action, the actions of drugs on cells, organs, and organisms, the genetic variations in drug action, and drug discovery.

Since more drugs will be introduced in the next ten years than have been discovered in the last one hundred, and since there are increasing needs for selective drug therapeutics, research in pharmacology and toxicology are at the forefront of medical science. The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Indiana University School of Medicine is actively involved in research and in medical and graduate education.