This course will provide students with the foundational knowledge to understand clinical pharmacology and the processes involved in translating drug discovery and development to clinical therapeutics, and evaluating and optimizing patient care. The lecture and tutorial based course has five modules:

• Pharmacokinetics: drug liberation, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion

• Pharmacodynamics

• Assessment of Drug Effects

• Optimizing and Evaluating Patient Therapy

• Drug Discovery and Development

Note that course enrollment will be for semester 2, but the lectures and tutorials run from September to April. This is required so that students can actively participate in the live electronic lectures and discussions web-cast from the NIH Clinical Center.

Students will be expected to:

• understand the principles of pharmacokinetics and be able to apply these to clinical situations
• have foundational knowledge of pharmacodynamics
• have a theoretical understanding of how to conduct clinical trials
• understand the process of translation from drug discovery to clinical therapeutics
• understand the relevant guidelines, policies and governance relating to clinical pharmacology

Tutorial tests 20%

Assignments 40%

Exam 40%

The workload is 5-6 contact hours per week (2-3 hours of lectures with each lecture followed by a one hour tutorial). Students will be expected to spend an equivalent period in self-directed study.

Undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences, or MBBS

Knowledge and experience in medical or clinical sciences, allied health or health policy and administration.

Principles of Clinical Pharmacology, Second Edition (2007) edited by Arthur J. Atkinson, Jr., et al. Academic Press/Elsevier. 

Standard IT and library access