Pharmacology and Toxicology: Fall Course Offerings

Lab Rotation PHTO (6022) The objectives of this course are to acquaint students with the research activities of individual faculty members and to assist students in choosing their areas of specialization. The faculty member and student will design a research project and work out a time schedule committing the student to three to 24 hours per week in the laboratory. The student will prepare an abstract describing the objectives and methodology of the study and then conduct the study under the faculty memberÆs supervision. A final report stating the methods, results, interpretation, problems encountered, and suggestions for future research will be required. In addition to carrying out the research proposal the student will be expected to gain a knowledge of the current literature relevant to the project. Grading will be based on the studentÆs laboratory performance, final written report, and an oral presentation of the project. Grading will be A, B, C, F. Normally, a student entering the program without an advanced degree will be required to complete 12 hours of credit with a grade of B or better prior to gaining admission to candidacy. Individual requirements may vary depending on the research experience of the student. Prerequisites: None Terms offered: I, II, III Year offered: Annually Hours per week: Laboratory 3 24

Presentations by guest lecturers, staff, and students on the progress of their own research, as well as review of recent advances in pharmacology. Students will receive a grade of satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) based on attendance and participation. Prerequisites: Students are required to be enrolled in this course every term offered, except for the last term.

Prerequisites: None
Term offered: I, II, III
Year offered: Annually
Hours per week: Seminar 1
Instructor: Dr. Thomas Green

This course is designed to provide an opportunity for students to practice formal presentation skills and discuss science. Students will select research articles from pharmacological journals for presentation to students and student groups. Each student will present and discuss at least one paper per semester depending on the number of students enrolled in the course. Grades will be based on attendance and quality of presentation. Pharmacology students are required to be enrolled in this course every term offered, except for the last term.

Prerequisites: None
Term Offered: I, II
Year Offered: Annually
Hours Per Week: Conference or Discussion 1
Instructor: Dr. Miriam Falzon

Research on thesis or dissertation project under the direction of supervising professor. The research is graded as satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U).

Prerequisites: None

Term offered: I, II, III

Year offered: Annually

Formal research and writing leading to the preparation and completion of the thesis for the Master of Science degree under the direction of the student's supervisory committee. Grading will be based upon the student's level of performance as reported by the chairperson of the student's supervisory committee and will be assigned as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

 Term offered: I, II, III

Year offered: Annually

 

Once admitted to candidacy, it is required for students pursuing the Doctor of Philosophy degree to enroll in this course.  This course is for the formal research and writing leading to the preparation and completion of the dissertation for the Doctor of Philosophy degree while under the direction of the student’s supervisory committee. The student will pursue the proposed research and present a progress report and/or agreed upon objectives to the mentor and/or supervisory committee for approval and recommendations. Grading will be based upon the student's level of performance as reported by the chairperson of the student's supervisory committee and will be assigned as Satisfactory (S), Needs Improvement (N), or Unsatisfactory (U).

Prerequisites: Admission to candidacy

Terms offered: I, II, III

Year Offered: Annually

Hours per week: Variable 3-9

 

This course will be a graduate-level presentation of fundamental principles of environmental toxicology, including basic concepts like ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion), mechanisms of toxicity and injury, inflammation and ROS, overviews of discipline-specific toxicology (e.g., genetic toxicology, immunotoxicology, and toxicant-associated carcinogenesis), as well as organ-system-based toxicology covering major organ systems of the body (e.g., neurotoxicology, hepatotoxicology, renal toxicology, cardiovascular toxicology, and respiratory toxicology), and including developmental toxicology. Grades will be calculated based on upon 2 mid-term and final in-class exams, and class attendance.

Prerequisites: None
Term offered: I
Year offered: Every other year
Hours per week: 3
Instructor: Dr. Bill Ameredes, Dr. Lance Hallberg, Dr. Casey Wright

This fifteen-week course serves as an introduction to the cellular, biochemical, and molecular effects of pharmacological agents acting on the autonomic and central nervous systems as well as the cardiovascular and renal systems.  Prior to detailed presentations of the various classes of agents used to treat disorders of the aforementioned systems, the pertinent physiology of each system will be reviewed.  The therapeutic use, mechanism of action, adverse effects, and absorption, distribution, and metabolism will be emphasized for each pharmacological agent presented in class.  This course will be graded on the basis of four in-class examinations.

Prerequisites: None
Term offered: I
Year offered: Annually
Hours per week: 4.5
Instructor: Dr. John Allen

The objective of this course is to provide a basic foundation in computational toxicology methods, applications, and practical skills. The course format is a hybrid of online lectures and webinars supplemented with online materials as well as practical application aligned with project examples. Students will be provided an opportunity to I) learn the background and application of QSAR methods for in silico prediction of toxic endpoints, as well as application for industrial and pharmaceutical product development 2) learn the background of modeling pharmacologicall pharmacodynamic principles as well as systems biology modeling for predictive value, and demonstrate some competency in modeling via an exercise, and 3) learn the background and application of publicly available toxicology databases, and how the data can be used for experimental and regulatory purposes, as well as a practical exercise using a database for a project and focused outcome.

Online discussions will be asynchronous with clear start times and deadlines for students to post to the discussion forum. Students are expected, at the minimum, to provide at least one initial post and one reply post for each weekly topic. Depending on the course size, students may be asked to lead discussions for the week. The course instructor will set the course discussion question for the week and provide the journal club citation and pdf if necessary, though students will be encouraged to use their library research skills when papers are available that way. At the end of the discussion week, students will be graded on their level of participation. The expectations for online discussions will be explained, along with a grading rubric for the assignment of grades that is based on the quality and content of the online discussion postings. Lecture notes will also be available within Pilot on a weekly basis, so that students have the course material available to them during the week, and if they bring laptops to the course, they can use interactive tools on risk assessment during lectures or discussions to meet the applied learning objectives.

Prerequisites: Instructor or Director Approval
Term offered: I
Year offered: Annually
Hours per week: Lecture 2 Discussion 1
Instructor: Dr. Sol Bobst

The objective of this course is to provide a basic foundation on the toxicological risk assessment process. The course format is lecture-based with supplement from online materials and experiences, as well as practical application aligned with book chapter commentary, and case studies.  Students will be provided a risk assessment simulation exercise to experience and understand the risk assessment process. Within this course, students learn about: 1) the building blocks of risk assessment, 2) the risk assessment process, 3) how risk assessment is applied and used in decision making scenarios, 4) current and emerging issues in risk assessment, and 5) the skills and professional resources available to those interested in risk assessment. After completing the course, the student will be able to: 1) define and explain toxicological risk assessment, 2) comprehend the application of risk assessment, 3) demonstrate effective use of risk assessment technique, 4) demonstrate competent science and math skills associated with risk assessment, 5) employ ethical principles in the application of risk assessment, 6) demonstrate the ability to work effectively in teams and in discussion-based format. Course performance grading will be standard letter grades, based on exams, individual projects, class participation/discussion, and attendance.

 

Prerequisites: None
Term offered: I
Year offered: Every Other Year
Hours per week: 2
Instructor: Dr. Sol Bobst

This course will provide a comprehensive overview of the drug discovery and development process, focusing on drug development science, regulation, and industry.  Students will learn how promising new drugs are discovered, screened, and evaluated from the standpoint of their safety and efficacy.

How drug commercialization decisions are made at each major phase in the drug development process.  How information technology is used to increase drug development productivity as well as enhance the commercial potential of drug candidates.

Topics include:  Molecules to medicines; Drug discovery, design, and screening; Early testing and Safety; Clinical research; Global drug review and approval, Trends and issues in pharmaceutical drug development; Case history, etc.  

The course grade will be based on class participation (50%) and class project and presentation (50%).  Term offered: Fall, Year offered:  Annually.  

Hours per week: Lecture, conference and discussion

 Faculty: Zhou, Staff.

This course is an open discussion and presentation course, and will include monthly presentation of current literature papers, selected by the students, in consultation and development with the Course Director, prior to each presentation.  This will include: 1) the process of paper selection, 2) the review of potential auxiliary papers, and 3) distribution of the papers to the class participants. Using guidelines developed by the Course Director, students will each present 1-2 papers from the current toxicology-relevant literature, in a semi-formal presentation venue, with an open discussion format.  In this discussion time, presenting students will be responsible for the development and delivery of presentation on their selected research paper(s). Areas required to be covered within the presentation are: 1) hypothesis, 2) methods and approach, 3) statistical analyses, 4) main finding(s), 5) appropriateness of overall conclusions, 6) strengths and weaknesses of study, and 6) whether they would accept the paper for publication as is, or with modification(s), and what those modifications, if necessary, would be. Open discussion will include questioning the presenter about various important aspects of the study being presented, including the hypothesis, experimental design, statistics, and results. Grading will be based on paper presentation, participation in classroom discussion, and attendance.  

Prerequisites: None
Terms offered: I through II
Year offered: Annually
Hours Per Month: 2
Instructor: Dr. Bill Ameredes

The goal of the class is to introduce the students to the various bioinformatics tools available for the analysis DNA and RNA sequencing data. Students will be provided with an overview of the most common bioinformatics tasks they will face in the research. During the class, students will have hands on experience performing analysis of the data generated by the variety of scientific instruments and bioinformatics tools addressing real-life clinical and scientific applications. The class will be divided into three sections: pathogen detection, gene expression, and microbiome analysis. Students will be taught how to use public bioinformatics resources such as GeneBank, SRA, PATRIC, SILVa, and I2B2. 

Prerequisites: None
Terms offered: I
Year offered: Annually
Hours Per Week: 1
Instructor: Dr. George Golovko

This course will provide a solid understanding of current mental health research and promote understanding of factors advancing future groundbreaking mental health research.  The course will have flexible format, including sessions where students discuss relevant papers, present their own data, discuss a wide range of career-development issues, learn about pharmacotherapeutic development, learn advanced grant-writing principles, discuss relevant ethical issues, and learn advanced research techniques.  Attendance 50%, participation in classroom discussion 50%.  A satisfactory grade requires a score of 80%. 

Prerequisites: None
Term Offered: I, II, III
Year Offered: Annually
Hours Per Week: 2
Instructor: Dr. Thomas Green and Dr. Fernanda Laezza

The Neuroaddicts Journal Club provides a more cohesive venue for trainees and exposes mentees to a wider range of neuroscience and addictions topics. The goals are for mentees to learn critical thinking of the published literature, the requirements and construction of high quality manuscripts, and presentation skills. Within this environment, mentees have a prime opportunity to refine the ability to converse in both scientific and collegial domains, and become comfortable with asking questions and thinking critical/constructively. 

Prerequisites: None
Term offered: I, II
Year offered: Annually
Hours per week: 1
Instructor: Dr. Noelle Anastasio

This course will provide an interactive workgroup for trainees to discuss their research in addiction science with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty. Emphasis will be placed on therapeutic development, and trainees will learn how to approach existing projects with a therapeutic development prospective. Presentation formats will vary in scope and level of analysis, depending on the needs of the trainee. Examples of trainee presentation formats include: expansion of an existing project for grant proposal development, and detailed discussion of data analysis and interpretation. Intermittently, faculty will present information on their research program to provide students with an overview of cutting-edge neuroscience and drug discovery/development topics. Grades will be based on in-class participation and presentation quality.

Prerequisites: None
Term offered: I, II
Year offered: Annually
Hours per week: 1
Instructor: Dr. Jonathan Hommel