Description: A polycationic natural product with potent antibacterial activity that stems from the inhibition of protein synthesis. Like other aminoglycosides, gentamicin is not absorbed after oral administration and is notable for causing nephro- and ototoxicity. Publications: Wade JC, Smith CR, Petty BG, Lipsky JJ, Conrad G, Ellner J, Lietman PS. Cephalothin plus an aminoglycoside is more nephrotoxic than methicillin plus an aminoglycoside. Lancet. 1978;2:604-6. Smith CR, Lipsky JJ, Laskin OL, Hellmann DB, Mellits ED, Longstreth J, Lietman PS. Double-blind comparison of the nephrotoxicity and auditory toxicity of gentamicin and tobramycin. N Engl J Med. 1980;302:1106-9. Moore RD, Smith CR, Lipsky JJ, Mellits ED, Lietman PS. Risk factors for nephrotoxicity in patients treated with aminoglycosides. Ann Intern Med. 1984;100:352-7.

Established in 1954, the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is one of the oldest in the world, and has a long history of laboratory and clinical research, teaching, and service activities.

Areas of investigation range across the spectrum of pharmacology: identification of promising drug targets; preclinical studies of lead compounds; modeling of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships; studies of kinetics, metabolism, safety and efficacy of drugs in humans; rational use of drugs in clinical practice.

The Division enjoys productive research collaborations with numerous Departments in the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, and the School of Arts and Sciences. Faculty in the Division are integral to the widely acclaimed and emulated Graduate Training Program in Clinical Investigation, the first such PhD program in the country. Throughout its history, and by means of its research and teaching missions, Clinical Pharmacology has brought a clear molecular perspective to the science of clinical investigation.