THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Deanery of Biomedical Sciences : Pharmacology (Biomedical Sciences)

Undergraduate Course: Drugs, Receptors and Therapeutics (PHBM10036)

Course Outline
SchoolDeanery of Biomedical Sciences CollegeCollege of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryAn understanding of the molecular pharmacology of receptors in relation to the action of drugs underpins many aspects of the courses within the Honours Pharmacology Programme. A series of lectures will be given to provide an overview of topics, including: action of drugs at receptors, structure-function relationships for the different classes of receptor, the signalling processes following receptor activation and receptor cloning and expression. Senior expert researchers will also provide lectures covering cutting-edge research in their field of pharmacology/therapeutics. The course will also provide a coherent perspective of how drugs are developed from a molecular target through preclinical development to clinical trials. It will consider how academic pharmacology can interact with drug development or can be focussed on discovery of molecular mechanisms independent of immediate therapeutic potential. Key aspects of the drug discovery pipeline in the industrial and academic domains will be considered. There will be opportunity to meet with Programme tutors in small groups. The purpose of the tutorials is to provide student access to a member of staff and to cover general aspects related to Pharmacology. Students will be encouraged to submit essays to tutors in order to practice and obtain feedback on their writing skills.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites Students MUST also take: Pharmacology Synoptic Examination (PHBM10017) AND Pharmacology Project Milestones Dissertation (PHBM10035) AND Pharmacology Project (PHBM10018)
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Full Year
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 31, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 165 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 30% In-Course Assessment
70% Written Exam
Feedback ICA Poster Presentation - Written feedback is released through Learn.
Degree Examination - students attend a feedback session with the course team to discuss the exam results.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)Drugs, Receptors and Therapeutics2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the major classes of receptors and their potential for therapeutic targeting; the principles of ligand-receptor interactions together with an ability to understand simple kinetic schemes describing receptor activation; downstream mechanisms of intracellular signalling; the drug discovery process and the stages involved from target identification to commercial release of a new therapeutic.
  2. Demonstrate an ability to discuss and critically evaluate the different experimental and quantitative methodologies that have expanded our knowledge of pharmacology and the pharmacological action of drugs.
  3. Demonstrate an ability to interpret and evaluate information in original articles and figures.
  4. Demonstrate an ability to draw together information from different approaches to identify the underlying mechanisms that might contribute the development of new therapeutics to treat disease
Reading List
Undergraduates read for a degree. The Drugs, Receptors and Therapeutics (Pharmacology Core) Course will in itself guide your reading, as each lecture will be preceded by the delivery on LEARN of Essential Reading that should be read in advance of the Associated Lecture. Please note that Essential Reading is an examinable component of each lecture given. That aside, all students should be very familiar with the material presented in the first three chapters of "Rang and Dale¿s Pharmacology" 8th edition, 2015, Churchill Livingstone. You are also encouraged to keep abreast of developments in pharmacology and related disciplines by reading current issues of British Journal of Pharmacology, Nature, Drug Discovery, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (T.I.P.S.) and Trends in Neuroscience (T.I.N.S.) which are available as E-journals in the Main Library.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsPHARM_4
Contacts
Course organiserProf Sue Fleetwood-Walker
Tel: (0131 6)51 1696
Email: S.M.Fleetwood-Walker@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Benjamin Harrison
Tel: (0131 6)51 1824
Email: bharris6@exseed.ed.ac.uk
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