Croyle, Maria A., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
PHR 4.214D
512-471-1972
macroyle@mail.utexas.edu

Teaching Interests

PHR142P Physical and Chemical Principles of Drugs Laboratory (PDF File)

The laboratory section of this course is designed to provide pharmacy students with a forum in which they can apply theoretical principles described in the lecture portion of the course to situations they will encounter as pharmacists and/or pharmaceutical scientists. Upon completion of the laboratory assignments, students will develop superior problem solving skills and understand the role that physical pharmacy plays in the daily practice of pharmacy.

PHR 382V Pharmaceutical Biotechnology (PDF File)

With the completion of the Human Genome project just in the horizon, the entire face of medicine as we know it will change considerably. Treatment strategies will involve the use of the traditional chemical entities (i.e. drugs) as well as recombinant proteins and genetic material (RNA, DNA). This course is designed to provide pharmaceutics graduate students with a survey of the current technology used in basic science and the pharmaceutical industry to develop new medicines for the 21st century. After completing this course, students should be able to:

• select and evaluate appropriate in vitro and in vivo models by which to test novel formulations or delivery methods


• understand the rationale and theory behind common techniques in the biotechnology field and use them to solve problems routinely encountered in the biotech industry


• understand how the immune system works and how this influences the development of recombinant DNA therapeutics


• appreciate that modern therapeutics derived from the application of
  genetic techniques are often difficult to produce and handle but are highly specific for their biological sites of activity


• understand the concept of gene therapy, where the field is currently, and how the pharmaceutical scientist can play a significant role in development of a product to treat a genetic disease


• effectively interface with scientists involved in large scale production and processing of biological products with respect to formulation development and final product characterization

Laboratory Problems Course in Pharmaceutics

Problems courses are available for graduate and undergraduate students interested in gaining first hand experience in pharmaceutical research.
Dr. Croyle is currently offering Laboratory Problems courses in research pertaining to the immunology of recombinant viral vectors for gene therapy. Trainees will be exposed to cutting edge, interdisciplinary research relevant to the fields of cell biology, virology and immunology, while sharpening basic skills in pharmaceutics and drug delivery. Hypothesis development and open-ended problem solving skills will be emphasized. Contact Dr. Croyle for further information about participation in this course.