Pharmacology for Toxicologists and Drug Analysts module (LV52002)

Pharmacology is the study of how drugs affect the body's functions and how a drug behaves in the body after it is administered. It is important for drug analysts and, especially, toxicologists. This module introduces you to pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacogenomics.

Pharmacokinetics refers to what the body does to a drug. It involves the study of how a drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted by the body. Understanding pharmacokinetics helps in determining the right dosage, frequency, and route of administration for a drug based on how the body handles it. It also affects the length of time you can detect a drug in the body, in what biological fluids, and what compounds to look for.

On the other hand, pharmacodynamics refers to what a drug does to the body. It involves studying the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs on the body and their mechanisms of action. This includes how drugs interact with their target receptors or sites in the body to produce therapeutic and/or toxic effects. Pharmacodynamics helps in understanding the relationship between the drug concentration at the site of action and the resulting effect on the body, aiding in predicting and optimizing drug responses and potential side effects.

Finally, pharmacogenomics combines pharmacology with genomics to understand how genetic variations can affect a person's response to a particular drug.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• describe the different types of drug metabolism and their importance in drug development
• demonstrate a systematic and in-depth knowledge and understanding, via critical analysis of methodologies and practical techniques available for drug development
• analyse data generated from different techniques for identifying and characterising drug metabolites and interpret the results

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• critically analyse ethical issues in the context of drug development
• develop skills in writing research reports and scientific papers 
• demonstrate critical evaluation of numerical and graphical data, and communication of scientific information clearly and unambiguously

Assignments / assessment

• online exam (50%)
• laboratory report (50%)

Teaching methods / timetable

Learning and teaching will take place on our virtual learning environment, My Dundee.

Lectures will be prerecorded allowing you to learn at your own pace and will be supported by online live sessions and tutorials, reading lists, discussion boards, and self-assessment tools.