400 Level Pharmacology Course Details
PMCOL401/402B1 … PMCOL450/550 … PMCOL498 … PMCOL412
… PMCOL415
PMCOL416 … PMCOL425 … PMCOL475
PMCOL 401/402B1
Pharmacology Tutorial
* These courses are identical other than that PMCOL 401 is offered in the Fall, and 402A the winter term
Note: Consent from the course supervisor is needed in order to enroll.
Grading: The final grade is based upon the following; laboratory performance, laboratory notebook, a paper based on the research findings of the student and a ten-minute presentation of the research findings of the student.
Some of the most important skills that a student can acquire as an undergraduate are laboratory skills. "Hands-on" experience is seen as a valuable commodity by anyone looking to hire someone a recent graduate from BSc programs. With this in mind, this course provides an opportunity to work with a Faculty member on a research project during the Fall semester. The research project can be either literature- or research-based. The details of the project will be mutually agreed upon by the student and supervisor. This is an excellent opportunity to learn current laboratory techniques, data analysis and presentation, proper laboratory notebook maintenance (a must for those interested in working in industry) and presentation skills. These projects typically require that the student be available for one afternoon per week.
Grading: The final grade is based upon the following; laboratory performance, laboratory notebook, a paper based on the research findings of the student and a ten-minute presentation of the research findings of the student.
PMCOL 450/550
Introduction to the Pharmacology of Diabetes
Winter Term
Grading: Students will be required to write three papers over the course. Each section students will choose one topic for a 5 page report. The top 2 marks will be taken (and will contribute to 60% of the overall mark). The final exam (40%) will consist of a mixture of short essay questions.
The incidence of diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate in today's society. Understanding diabetes, and present and future treatments, is essential in battling this disease. This course will provide an overview of our current understanding of blood glucose homeostasis; insulin secretion and action; other important blood sugar-regulating hormones; and the pathology of diabetes. Current pharmacological approaches for lowering blood glucose will be discussed; including approaches aimed at replacing insulin, stimulating endogenous insulin production, and increasing insulin action. Finally, the latest experimental approaches, potential drug targets, and current research leading to new pharmacological approaches to the treatment of diabetes will be explored. At the end of the course, students should have an appreciation for the mechanisms that control glucose homeostasis in health and diabetes; the diversity of drug targets and mechanisms by which diabetes drugs promote glucose control, and current rationale and lines of research leading to potential new treatments.
PMCOL 498A/498B
Pharmacology Research Program
Fall and Winter terms
Note: Similar to Pharmacology 401 and 402, this course is the two-term research project that is available to Honours students only.
Grading: the final mark will be determined based on laboratory performance, laboratory notebook, a paper based on the research findings of the student and two ten-minute presentations based on a midterm and final examination
You will be working side-by-side with graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and a Faculty member in one of the Department of Pharmacology research laboratories on a research project that you and your supervisor have designed. The projects are structured to provide you with the type of research experience that is vital to those who want to go on to graduate school or to work for a drug company. You will learn a variety of techniques, data management and interpretation, laboratory notebook maintenance and presentation skills.
PMCOL 412
Drugs and the Nervous System
Winter term, M, W, F 14:00
Coordinator: Dr. S. Sipione
Grading: The final grade will be based on a midterm and a final
examination.
No disease can be cured without knowledge of the underlying cause and
molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis. The goal of PMCOL412 is to
learn about the molecular basis of disorders of the nervous system, current
therapies in use, as well as novel potential treatments that are in
clinical trials or at the preclinical experimental stage. Research
frontiers in pain and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer,
Parkinson and Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
multiple sclerosis and HIV-related neurodegeneration, among others,
will be explored. Novel therapeutic targets and the potential
treatments of tomorrow will be discussed.
PMCOL 415
Cardiovascular Pharmacology
Fall term, M W F 11:00
Coordinator: Dr. A.S. Clanachan
Grading: the final grade will be based on two midterm examinations and a final examination. The test format is a mixture of short answer and multiple choice questions.
Pmcol 415 deals with the pharmacology of drug actions on the cardiovascular system. Course content has been recently updated to reflect activities in on-going cardiovascular drug investigation and development,
with the overall objective of illustrating cardiovascular pharmacology as a modern and ever-developing
"science", rather than fixed content in a textbook. Topics will include experimental approaches to
evaluate drug mechanisms, illustrations of drug usage to elucidate physiological and
pathological processes, approaches to identify and exploit novel drug targets, evidence-based drug
selection, as well as some more controversial issues and hot topics concerning drug effectiveness, drug marketing, and
clinical trials. Lecture material is enhanced with in-class discussion sessions.
PMCOL 416
Current Topics in Endocrine Pharmacology
Winter term, T R 11:00
Coordinators: Dr. A. Yse and F. Tse
Grading: the final grade is based on two midterms (each 20%) and a final examination (60%), all in short essay format (about 1 page per topic).
PMCOL 416 introduces students to the primary literature (i.e. original research papers) on drugs (and their targets) that are relevant to the treatment of the endocrine dysfunctions. The topics include hormones, such as melatonin and endocannabinoids, which are typically not covered in introductory pharmacology courses. This course also highlights the development of new drug targets for the treatment of diabetes, obesity and some symptoms of aging. For each topic, an introductory lecture is followed by an instructor-led discussion of a relevant scientific or clinical paper. The students will be introduced to scientific methodologies such as transgenic mice with knock-down of specific receptors, behavioral studies, electrophysiology, as well as clinical trials. The goal of this course is to increase the students' skills in logical thinking and problem solving in the context of medical science.
PMCOL 425
Problem Solving in Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Note: This course is retricted to students in the Pharmacology program
Winter term, T R 14:00 - 15:30
Coordinator: Dr. M. Davies
Grading: There is no midterm or final examination. Marks are based on the following: a midterm paper based on one of the problems covered in class; a final paper in which the student must construct and solve a therapeutic problem; participation in the group discussions.
An important part of any undergraduate program is learning how to apply knowledge gained from several courses in a real-world manner. This is a course where senior students get to use their knowledge of pharmacology to solve problems in therapeutics. These problems typically focus on identifying the kinds of drugs used to treat certain medical conditions, identifying their mechanisms of action and determining their potential to cause side-effects. Each problem is covered in two sessions: in the first, the students discuss the problem and identify any gaps in knowledge. In the second session, they share their research on the problem and arrive at a consensus on how the problem is best solved.
PMCOL 475
Signal Transduction Systems as Pharmacological Targets
Winter term, M W F 10:00
Coordinator: Dr. E. Posse-DeChaves
Grading: Please contact the course coordinator
Do you want to learn about the most advanced therapeutic approaches in development for cancer, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, autoimmune and other diseases while overcoming the fear of complicated signaling pathways? In this course we analyze the main signaling pathways, their roles in health and disease and the therapeutic approaches targeting them.