ATTACHMENT 6
Course
descriptions for
First Year (P1) at
Biochemistry (3
credits)
This course will explore: the chemistry of biomacromolecules (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and DNA); enzymology and co-enzymes and kinetics; metabolic pathways to energy utilization; nucleic acid metabolism, including DNA replication and repair, RNA, and protein synthesis; and recombinant DNA technology.
Biostatistics (3
credits)
This course will provide the student with an understanding of commonly used statistical tests and their
basis, the skills needed to manage data sets and evaluate statistical results,
and the knowledge necessary to apply the concepts of statistical versus
clinical significance to practice.
Immunology (3 credits)
This course will provide the
student with the knowledge in human immunity and immune response, the
principles of antigen-antibody relationships, molecular biology of immune
response, and the genetic basis for antibody synthesis, development, function,
and immunopathology that will be necessary for
further exploration into related topics in immunology –based pharmacology and
therapeutics.
Medicinal Chemistry (3
credits)
This course will provide a foundation for the pharmacology series of courses by imparting in the student an understanding of physico-chemical properties of drug molecules in relation to drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion; the chemical basis of pharmacology and therapeutics; fundamental pharmacophores for drugs used to treat disease; the structure activity relationships in relation to drug-target interactions; chemical pathways of drug metabolism; and an application to making drug therapy decisions.
Molecular Biology (3
credits)
This course will evaluate cell
structure and components, ion channels and receptor physiology, mitosis and
meiosis, chromosomes and DNA, gene transcription and translation processes, and
recombinant DNA technology as will be necessary for the in-depth understanding
of topics covered in the pathophysiology and clinical
diagnosis courses.
Pathophysiology I and II (6 credits)
These courses will provide the pharmacy student with an
understanding of the basic principles and mechanisms
of disease, including: inflammation and
repair; degeneration; hemodynamic disturbances;
developmental defects; and neoplasia. This level of understanding will be applied
in addressing disease states amenable to pharmacist intervention.
Second Year (P2)
at
Pharmacology I and II
(6 credits)
This course series will introduce the pharmacy student to the process of drug discovery and development. It will focus on the mechanism of action of drugs in various categories, the pharmacodynamics of drug action and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination, the adverse effects and side effects of drugs, drug-target interactions, and drug-drug, drug-food, and drug-lab test interactions. Pharmacogenomics/genetics will be discussed as the basis for disease and drug action and for the alteration of drug metabolism. Genome and proteomic principles in relation to disease and drug development and the genetic basis for individualizing drug doses will be introduced. An understanding of the role of pharmacology in drug choice and the treatment of disease will result.
Biopharmaceutics and Principles of Clinical
Pharmacokinetics (3 credits)
This course addresses the biological principles of dosage forms and the in vivo drug kinetics (linear and nonlinear); principles of bioavailability/bioequivalence; physiologic determinates of drug onset and duration; drug, disease, and dietary influences on absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion; the clinical pharmacokinetics of commonly used and low-therapeutic-index drugs; and the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic interface.