The Unknown Museums of the NKUA: The Pharmacology Museum

 

 

How has Medicine evolved through the decades, what was the social impact, what were the positive and negative effects? A walk through the Pharmacology Museum will share the many answers to this question…

 

The Pharmacology Museum was founded in 2003 by the faculty of the Department of Pharmacοlogy of the Medical School of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), and it is housed in the Laboratories building 16 on Mikras Asias street in Goudi. While the lab departments underwent maintenance and repairs or were renovated and remodeled to facilitate contemporary needs in the past few decades, several pieces of important equipment were scrapped, rescued, and stored for exhibits, mainly thanks to the efforts of Dr. Jannis S. Papadopoulos, associate professor of the NKUA Medical School.

The exhibits nowadays include specialized research instruments for basic biomedical research, the study of the pathophysiological mechanisms of diseases, the examination of new drug mechanisms of action (MOA), and the development of new therapeutic interventions, featuring an array of items so that the visitor can distinguish and compare between past and modern era tools. There are also student training instruments, items related to medical student life, exhibits related to drug dependence and its consequences from older times to date, and an array of vintage ad posters featuring medical products and medicine, old drugstores, and health education campaigns (mainly about addictions, like alcohol consumption and smoking).

The Pharmacology Museum’s objective is to inform younger students on pharmacological research topics and experimental philosophy, but also to encourage graduate and postgraduate research on relative topics. Visitors are encouraged to think about the equipment and the social implementations involved, the items’ evolution through time, their commercial and scientific necessity, and how they intertwine to the social events of their past. How has Medicine evolved through the decades, what was the social impact, what were the positive and negative effects? And last but not least, what is the holistic approach to all aspects of pharmacology (from the drug industry to research labs, and from scientists to medical schools, professors, and students).

Visits for schools can be scheduled by contacting the NKUA Pharmacology Department secretary at secr@pharm.uoa.gr

Special thanks to Dr. Charis Liapi, Associate Professor of Pharmacology who arranged my visit and showed me around the museum

More museums by the NKUA at https://en.uoa.gr/about_us/museums/