Pharmacology BSc Hons

Primary objective of the module

To give students a background in cell structure and a basic background in biochemistry.

Module content

This is a year-long module composed of both lecture and practical elements, designed to provide students with an understanding of the cell biology, biochemistry and molecular genetics of living organisms. Topics covered will include the structure and function of cells and organelles, structure of proteins and enzymes, structure of DNA, transcription, translation, mutations, basic recombinant DNA technology, organisation and control of genes in a diversity of organisms, metabolism of macromolecules, structure of cell membranes, transport processes, cell signalling and cell division.

Primary objective of the module

To provide a broad understanding of the physiology of the major systems in the body, which will be built upon in future pharmacology module.

Module content

This module is concerned with modern aspects of human physiology providing an overview of all the major systems of the human body. The course aims to provide a basic understanding of modern aspects of human physiology. The course will focus on 10 key systems including excitable tissues, the nervous system, endocrinology, the cardiovascular system, blood, respiration, the renal system, the gastrointestinal system, metabolism and reproduction.

Primary objective of the module

To provide students with an introduction to key experimental, analytical and transferable skills, and to reinforce scientific themes from the first year in the context of small group tutorials.

Module content

The module has three major components:

1. Tutorials and supporting lectures (approx. 25% contact time). Lectures will provide advice about key transferable skills, including scientific writing, oral presentations, plagiarism, and career development. Tutorials will provide practice related to these skills (including writing an essay and giving a presentation), in the context of discussions about key scientific ideas relevant to Pharmacology.
2. Experimental Design and data Analysis (approx. 50%). A combination of a) lectures on the principles of the scientific method, good experimental design, and basic statistical analysis, and b) training in the statistical interpretation and analysis of data, delivered via a combination of workshops and self-study.
3. Pharmacology (approx. 25%). A series of lectures and practicals on the fundamentals and quantification of the action of drugs which will underpin material present in other modules. Sources of information: online databases of literature, chemical and pharmacological data. 

This module introduces the basic concepts of molecular structure that underlie the physicochemical properties of drugs and their interactions with pharmacological binding partners. You will learn how to draw the chemical structures of drug molecules, name them, and understand their composition, three-dimensional shape, and flexibility.

Concepts of reactivity are introduced and rationalised in the context of the basic reactions that are used to form the bonds in organic molecules. You will acquire a mechanistic understanding of the reactions that are used to form carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds in simple functionalised aromatic and aliphatic drug molecules.

Primary objective of the module

This module will examine in depth the analysis of drug action, and its application to the design and use of current therapeutics.

Module content

This module will examine in depth the analysis of drug action, and its application to the design and use of current therapeutics. We will define what drugs are, the different ways they act at the cellular and molecular level, and pharmacokinetic principles underlying drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination.   This framework will provide the basis to explore the rationale and goals of treatment for clinical therapeutic case studies.  These will highlight major current challenges to human health – in cardiovascular and respiratory disease, diabetes and obesity, CNS disorders, cancer and infectious disease.  Overall, the student will develop a deep understanding of what the discipline of pharmacology represents, and its application to both basic biological research and current and future medical advances. 

Primary objective of the module

The module deals with fundamental concepts and methods in molecular pharmacology and protein structure. Students will study the major classes of drug targets, their role in signalling systems that lead to changes in cell and tissue function, and thus how their modulation can influence patient health. As part of the focus on drug development, students will research in a focused area of early drug discovery to identify how drug candidates may be taken on to become medicines.

Module content

Molecular targets of drug action; receptor classification; enzymes; ion channels and transporters. Transduction mechanisms. Intra- and intercellular signalling. Ion channels including anaesthesia.

Integrated pharmacodynamics:

• Immunopharmacology including overview of immune system, allergic responses, allergic responses to drugs, immune diseases.
• Endocrine system
• Neural networks

Primary objective of the module

This is a practical module to introduce students to experimental pharmacology, experimental design, data analysis, and how to write a scientific report.

Module Content

Students will carry out a series of practicals and workshops that will be closely tied-in with the lecture material delivered in the other pharmacology modules. Through this module, students will develop their practical skills, as well as their data analysis and scientific writing skills

You will learn how knowledge of structural and synthetic aspects of molecules is applied in the discovery and design of new drugs. The concepts of pharmacophores and structure–activity relationships are introduced with the aid of instructive examples of drugs in clinical use. You will learn to apply medicinal chemistry concepts to the design and optimisation of molecularly targeted drug candidate molecules.

Primary objective of the module

To explain the main signalling mechanisms that take place in eukaryotic cells.

Module content

The module aims to develop an understanding, at the molecular level, of the ways in which extracellular signals are transmitted into cells and mechanisms by which intracellular metabolic reactions respond. The module also aims to develop an understanding of lipid, carbohydrate and protein metabolism in health and disease.

This module will give you a good grounding in the basic principles of the nervous system of humans and other animals. Topics will include neuroanatomy, cellular neuroscience, neuropharmacology, sensory systems, neuroendocrinology, memory, behavioural neuroscience and diseases of the nervous system. These will be delivered through weekly lectures and practical classes.

Studying this module, you'll be able to explain how the nervous system develops, is organised, and processes information. This will be achieved through presentation of comparative invertebrate and vertebrate studies, consideration of evolutionary concepts, and a detailed analysis of the development, structure, and function of the mammalian brain. The lecture sessions are complemented by workshops on Drosophila and chick embryo development, on the neuroanatomy of the human spinal cord, and dissection of pig brains subject to the availability of tissue.

In this module you will learn about the structure and function of the eukaryotic genome, including that of humans, and the approaches that have led to their understanding. You will learn about techniques that are employed to manipulate genes and genomes and how they can be applied to the field of medical genetics. By using specific disease examples, you will learn about the different type of DNA mutation that can lead to disease and how they have been identified. Practical elements will teach you about basic techniques used in medical genetics such as sub-cloning of DNA fragments into expression vectors. Practical classes and problem based learning will be used to explore the methods used for genetic engineering and genome manipulation.

This module considers the structure and function of soluble proteins and how individual proteins can be studied in molecular detail. More specifically you will learn about the problems associated with studying membrane-bound proteins and build an in-depth understanding of enzyme kinetics and catalysis. You will learn about the practical aspects of affinity purification, SDS PAGE, western blotting, enzyme assays, bioinformatics and molecular modelling approaches.

This module studies transporters and channels, groups of proteins responsible for controlling the flow of substances across lipid bilayers that are critical for cellular homeostasis. You will learn the basics of transporter and channel biology, and then apply this knowledge to design virtual experiments, the simulated results of which would gradually reveal the molecular basis of a transporter or channel related disease. You will design a series of “virtual experiments”, with appropriate controls, in order to probe the function of a particular gene in a physiological condition.

Primary objective of the module

This module will enable students to experience contemporary research methods.

Module content

Students will perform a laboratory based research project on a topic related to the interests of a member of the academic staff. They will produce a dissertation explaining what work was performed and a discussion of the results obtained.

Primary objective of the module

To give students the skills to design and develop assays and to manage a project.

Module content

This module will run concurrently with the project module and provide students with project management skills e.g. scheduling, decision making.

Also covered will be assay development and design. Use of fluorescence techniques, radioisotopes, microscopy. Statistical analysis.

Other skills will include communication and presentation skills, team working skills. Students will be required to write a grant proposal and present the proposal to their peers. Students will need to consider the aim, experimental design, work plans, budgets, contingencies.

Primary objective of the module

To give students the skills required to analyse in vivo data from both animal studies and from clinical trials.

Module content

Students will gain an understanding of pre-clinical testing incl. toxicology and will gain an understanding of the laws and ethics underlying drug testing in pre-clinical and clinical trials. Students will learn how to analyse clinical pharmacology data from patients, applying pharmacokinetic aspects of drugs and expertise in pathophysiology of diseases, interpretation of in vivo data, and human dose prediction.

Primary objective of the module

To cover the pharmacological treatment of disease, both current and future treatments, in detail.

Module content

This 3^rd year module will look at mechanisms of drug action in further detail and complexity. Students will also be taken through the drug discovery process, including: overview of the drug discovery process (target identification- human genetics data; target-driven drug discovery, HTS strategies; target validation; QSAR); Target driven drug discovery. This will be linked to future/ novel targets for CVD, obesity, diabetes, immune diseases, Cancer, Respiratory disease, CNS disorders. Students will also be provided with an understanding of what is required to get a drug approved. Lectures from guest clinical speakers will put the pharmacology in a clinical setting.

 As part of this module, students will work in groups as part of a Virtual Drug Discovery simulator:

Students will be guided through the drug discovery process through identification of a novel drug for treatment of “X” with a combination of self-directed learning and workshops. Workshops will be linked in with lectures. Students will be expected to work in teams and drive the drug discovery process. They will be provided with data in workshops. The data they are provided with will depend on the decisions they make about what experiments or testing is required. They will start at target identification, do an initial screen, decide on which drugs to take forward and how to develop them into the clinical phase. They will then carry out a clinical trial and analyse the data.

Primary objective of the module

To build on the detail and add further complexity to the drug discovery problems studied in year 2, with a focus on how the interpretation of quantitative pharmacology data can be dependent upon the signalling pathways measured.

Module Content

The lectures will be linked to a series of drug discovery problems. Topics covered include signal transduction, spare receptors, amplification, biased signalling, and molecular biology applied to pharmacology (biotechnological techniques, cloning receptors, recombinant proteins for therapy, gene manipulation in animals, mutants and their uses). Kinetics of drug binding, enzymology, ion channel pharmacology, non-GPCR targets, and mode of action of drugs targeting enzymes.