PHARMAC 4A03 Course outline

Maximum 22 students that are split into two classes of maximally 11

Weekly 3 hours sessions. Problem based learning format. All problems are real world problem directly from clinical practice or pharmaceutical industry practice or from a researcher in pharmacology.

A typical class starts with 2.5 hour discussion on a topic that was proposed the week before and that has been thoroughly researched by all students independently. The faculty member facilitates the discussion and at times may participate in the discussion, but it is largely student driven. The course has very clear and extensive objectives and the faculty member is responsible for the completion of all objectives at the end of the course. The problems are designed in such a way that all objectives are met.
Because the faculty member deals only with 11 students or less, he/she gets to know the students and evaluates each student at the end of every other 3 hour class. Emphasis in the evaluation is given to proper collaboration and teamwork, to communication, critical thinking and problem solving and content knowledge. Extensive personal evaluation is provided to all students on an ongoing basis.

This is a problem-based course that offers students the opportunity for self-directed learning in drug/receptor interactions. Students are expected to set and attain objectives to fit their own educational needs, and a component of the work done in this course should be directed to these ends. In addition, there are minimal objectives that every student will be expected to attain.

Students should also equip themselves with:

Profile of a Student (PDF)

Profile of a Tutor (PDF)

Formative Evaluation Sheet (PDF)

and bring all material to the first tutorial.

PHARMAC 4C03 course outline 2024 (.doc)

Here the maximum number of students is 22. This is also a problem-based class but most assignments are done with all students present. All problems are real world problems directly from clinical practice or pharmaceutical industry practice or from a researcher in pharmacology. This course also provides extensive training in formal oral presentations and in formal poster presentations.

A typical class starts with 2.5 hour discussion on a topic that was proposed the week before and that has been thoroughly researched by all students independently. The faculty member facilitates the discussion and at times may participate in the discussion, but it is largely student driven. The course has very clear and extensive objectives and the faculty member is responsible for the completion of all objectives at the end of the course. The problems are designed in such a way that all objectives are met.

The objective of this course is to provide information about the mechanisms whereby naturally occurring and man-made chemicals produce toxic effects in biological systems. Both chemical and biological determinants of toxic effects will be examined. The questions of how to test for potential toxic actions and whether these can be predicted from chemical structures will be examined.

Depth of coverage of the fundamental principles of toxicology (absorption, distribution, exposures and pathways to man, dose-response relationships, antagonism, synergism and analytical aspects) will be assessed. Coverage of toxic agents (PCBs, dioxins, pesticides, metals, biological toxins, and radiation/radioactive materials) and treatment of environmental and occupational toxicology (food contamination, air pollution, water and soil pollution, workplace hazards and regulatory aspects) will be accomplished through problem-based learning using actual case histories or events.

Program knowledge/employable skills. Because this is still a small group and each students gets to participate in problem based learning, in oral presentations and poster presentations, the following skills are learned:

• Adaptability & Resiliency
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Communication
• Creativity & Innovation
• Critical Thinking
• Functional Knowledge
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Professional Attributes
• Self-Awareness
• Social Responsibility

A typical class starts with 2.5 hour discussion on a topic that was proposed the week before and that has been thoroughly researched by all students independently. The faculty member facilitates the discussion and at times may participate in the discussion, but it is largely student driven. The course has very clear and extensive objectives and the faculty member is responsible for the completion of all objectives at the end of the course. The problems are designed in such a way that all objectives are met. All problems are real world problem directly from clinical practice or pharmaceutical industry practice or from a researcher in pharmacology.
The course content changes every year to incorporate the newest topics in pharmacology.

• Program knowledge/employable skills.
• Adaptability & Resiliency
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Communication
• Creativity & Innovation
• Critical Thinking
• Functional Knowledge
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Professional Attributes
• Self-Awareness
• Social Responsibility

Pharmac 4D03 Course Outline_2024 (.doc)

Problem-based learning with a maximum of 12 students. All problems are real world problems directly from clinical practice or pharmaceutical industry practice or from a researcher in pharmacology.

A typical class starts with 2.5 hour discussion on a topic that was proposed the week before and that has been thoroughly researched by all students independently. The faculty member facilitates the discussion and at times may participate in the discussion, but it is largely student driven. The course has very clear and extensive objectives and the faculty member is responsible for the completion of all objectives at the end of the course. The problems are designed in such a way that all objectives are met. The problems developed for this course offer students the opportunity for self-directed learning in a broad area of pharmacology with special emphasis on the molecular mechanisms and structure-activity relationships of the drugs studied. Apart from “personal” objectives, there are minimal course objectives (described below) that each student will be expected to attain.

Program knowledge/employable skills. Because this is a small group and each students gets to participate in problem-based learning, in oral presentations and poster presentations, the following skills are learned:

• Adaptability & Resiliency
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Communication
• Creativity & Innovation
• Critical Thinking
• Functional Knowledge
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Professional Attributes
• Self-Awareness
• Social Responsibility

Minimal Course Objectives

Part A  

i) Discuss the molecular mechanism of action of five of the following types of drugs:

1. Beta-Lactam antibiotics
2. DNA synthesis inhibitors
3. HIV protease inhibitors
4. Adenosine receptor agonists/antagonists
5. Excitatory amino acid receptor agonists/antagonists
6. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors
7. Receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors

ii) Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts involved in designing drugs for selected target sites, such as: cell-membrane receptors; intracellular or extracellular enzymes; receptor-coupled signal transduction pathways; bacterial cell wall synthesizing enzymes, viral proteases and viral nucleic acids synthesising enzymes.

Part B

i) Demonstrate an understanding of the physicochemical principles involved in drug action by being able to discuss how the following parameters influence drug action:

1. Stereochemistry and conformation
2. Electronic structure
3. Nature of chemical bonding

ii) Apply these concepts to novel systems in a final written examination.

Part C

i) Demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and principles of drug design by being able to discuss current approaches employed in the design of new drugs:

1. Discovery of lead compounds – natural products as pathfinders
2. High-throughput screening – a tool for drug discovery
3. Identification of drug targets – application of molecular biology and bioinformatics
4. Structure modification – the generation of combinatorial libraries
5. Structure based drug design – the process of iterative optimization

ii) Apply these concepts to novel systems in a final written examination.

Problem based learning with a maximally of 12 students. All problems are real world problems directly from clinical practice or pharmaceutical industry practice or from a researcher in pharmacology.

One semester, One three-hour session per week. A typical class starts with 2.5 hour discussion on a topic that was proposed the week before and that has been thoroughly researched by all students independently. The faculty member facilitates the discussion and at times may participate in the discussion, but it is largely student driven. The course has very clear and extensive objectives and the faculty member is responsible for the completion of all objectives at the end of the course. The problems are designed in such a way that all objectives are met.

• Program knowledge/employable skills.
• Adaptability & Resiliency
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Communication
• Creativity & Innovation
• Critical Thinking
• Functional Knowledge
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Professional Attributes
• Self-Awareness
• Social Responsibility

The overall objectives of this course are to provide you with an opportunity to explore the dimensions of drug use/abuse in society. By now you have completed a number of courses in pharmacology and I will assume that you have a good understanding of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. This course will include a variety of drug classes but the focus of discussion will not be on their mechanisms of action but on the context in which they are used or abused.

As a general working model, we would consider the use of drugs from the perspectives of: the consumers (patients/buyers), the prescribers (generally physicians), the providers (manufacturers), the regulators (usually Governmental agencies) and the dispensers. Each group brings to the situation, biases and attitudes that colour the utility of the product. Efficacy, a term that you have struggled through in earlier courses, takes on newer meanings as we begin to consider effectiveness in the world beyond the laboratory. Further, the notion of what constitutes “evidence” varies depending on the perspective chosen and I expect that we will have heated and illuminating discussions on that issue.

Much of the discussion will involve the general principles of pharmacoepidemiology. This is a relatively new term which has aroused mixed emotions. Some have argued that it is “an affront to good English usage” noting that “at 20 letters, it is awkward, pompous and longer than any other specialized title in medicine” (1). Nevertheless it has become a legitimate field dealing the “application of epidemiologic knowledge, methods and reasoning to the study of the effects (beneficial and adverse) and uses of drugs in human populations” (2). Epidemiologists as a whole are concerned with the who, the where and the how of disease distributions.

Pharmacoepidemiology began with a focus on one particular source of disease and illness viz drugs. It has become broader now and is seen to be a bridge science incorporating elements from pharmacology, therapeutics, epidemiology, statistics, economics and anthropology, and may be better called Social Pharmacology.

PHARMAC 4T15 Thesis Proposal 2024-25 (.doc)

The objective is for the student to get experience in conducting original research; to do in depth and full-time for four months, preparation, literature research, conducting original experiments, writing all this in a formal thesis format. In other words, it is the ideal preparation for work in an academic setting or starting a master’s degree. It fosters critical thinking, working to a certain extent independently and perseverance. It is one of the components of our program that makes employers or professors want to hire our students. The thesis differs from an essay or a project in the depth of scholarship required and a greater degree of involvement in the gathering and analysis of data.

Work on the thesis must be undertaken for no less than a four-month period during the summer or fall semester. The thesis document has to be submitted to the supervisor in December. the complete thesis document must be submitted to the program each January (see below). Students may work under the direct supervision of a McMaster faculty member or perform thesis work at sites outside of the university. In either case, thesis projects may be combined with a work term to span an eight or twelve month period of time.

Supervision of thesis projects by McMaster faculty or other employers is facilitated by the Honours Biology and Pharmacology Program. The program director may adjust supervision marking if inequalities in judgement criteria are noted, in consultation with the supervisor. The thesis term does not get paid. In any negotiations with potential supervisors, it is obligatory that the students make it clear that a thesis project is not a paid position in principle. In some settings (industry, government), the supervisor is mandatory to only have paid employees. In those cases, payment is acceptable. In some settings, working in other parts of the country, the supervisor is free to pay for expenses such as travel or accommodation, if such is negotiated.

The Pharmacology 4T15 Honours Thesis Proposal document must be completed and returned to the Program Director, Dr. Huizinga, for approval.

1. If the supervisor is experienced in supervising undergraduate research projects in academic environment, inform the Program Director when a thesis project has been secured. Please email the Program Office (biophrm@mcmaster.ca) with a provisional title, name and email address of the supervisor. Submission of the project proposal should be done before the project has started.
2. If the supervisor has no experience with supervising undergraduate projects, but the project will be a classical lab based study, the proposal should be sent to the program director as soon as possible after you have secured a position, but no later than three weeks before starting the project.
3. If the supervisor is in a non-academic environment, contact the Program Director to discuss the thesis proposal. It must be fully understood that the thesis project is an academic exercise with original research that has to be defended in public. If any proprietary issues are involved, this should be clarified and approved by the program director as soon as possible.

The thesis defenses will take place on a weekend in March of that academic year. The program director, Dr. Huizinga, will consult with the students as to which weekend is best. It is mandatory for all students to attend all presentations, the entire weekend.

There are several components to the evaluation of the thesis: