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3rd year pharmacology

3RD YEAR PHARMACOLOGY (PM302)

Course Coordinators

Dr. Maura Grealy

Email: maura.grealynuigalway.ie

Telephone: 091 493012 (outside); Ext. 3012 (inside)

Semester I: Pharmacology I (PM306)

Semester II: Pharmacology II (PM307)

  Practical Programme coordinator:

TBA

Course Structure

The 3rd Year Pharmacology course is a core subject in the 3rd Year Science degree programme and carries a weighting of 24 ECTS.  There are lecture and practical components to the course, and the course is divided into two sections (PM306 and PM307) each of which is equivalent to 12 ECTS.

Lectures

The lecture programme will consist of the following:

• The effects of drugs on the principal disease conditions associated with the cardiovascular, endocrine and central nervous systems.
• The use of drugs for the treatment of cancer, bacterial/viral infections and protozoal infestations
• The pharmacology of centrally acting neurotransmitters
• The molecular processes associated with drug action
• Advanced pharmacokinetics

  Lecture Schedule

  Day                             Time                Venue

Semesters I and II

Monday                       10.00               IT202

Tuesday                       09.00               Anatomy

Wednesday                  09.00               AC213

Friday                          14.00               Anatomy

Introductory Lecture

This will take place on Wednesday, 9th September 2009 at 09.00 in AC213.

Practicals

In Semester I, there will be both computer simulations and "wet" practicals, and will include the following topics:

• Rat blood pressure simulation
• Acetylcholinesterase measurements and the effects of anticholinesterases
• Plasma glucose determinations
• Gel electrophoresis
• Bioinformatics

In Semester II, the following practicals will take place:

• Radioligand binding
• Simulated rat Morris Maze
• Determination of tricyclic antidepressant concentrations

A significant proportion of the second Semester practical sessions will be taken up with student seminar presentations.  Each student will receive a seminar topic, following introductory sessions conducted over the first two weeks.  The seminar will provide a critique of a research paper associated with one of the lecture areas.

Practical Schedule

There is a single weekly practical session on a Monday afternoon, commencing at 14.00.  For all practicals taking place in the teaching laboratory, it is necessary to bring a laboratory coat and safety glasses.  In addition, it will be necessary to purchase a laboratory manual from the Secretariat at the main concourse, which will cover the practical material for both Semesters.

In Semester I, the first practical session will take place in the Pharmacology Teaching laboratory (located at the back of Distillery Road, and across from the Creche) on Monday, 14th September 2009.  Several of the sessions in this first Semester will take place in the Finnegan Computer Suite in Aras Uí Cathail.  For these sessions, it will be necessary to have registered with Blackboard (see below).

Important Dates for the Academic Year 2009-2010

The schedules for each Semester are outlined below:

Semester   Semester starts    Semester ends            Examination period

I                 7th Sept., 2009         28th Nov., 2009         7th - 18th Dec., 2009

II                11th Jan., 2010          31st Mar., 2010        23rd Apr.-21st May, 2010

Examinations

Lectures

At the end of each Semester, there is a 3-hour written examination based on the lecture material.  This will take the form of 8 questions, of which 5 questions must be attempted.  We have provided recent examination papers.  The written papers will comprise 70% of the total marks in each Semester.  The remaining marks will come from the practical programme.

Coursework

At the end of each Semester, there is a 3-hour written examination.  Each piece of work from both Semesters is marked. The marks breakdown will be as follows:

Semester I

Continuous assessment 20%

Practical Exam              10%

Semester II

Continuous assessment 10%

Seminar                                10%

Practical Exam                     10%

Recommended Textbooks

Minneman, K.P., Wecker, L., Larner, J. & Brody, T.M. (2005) Brody's human pharmacology : molecular to clinical Elsvier Mosby ISBN 0323032869.

Rang, H.P., Dale, Ritter and Gardner (2003): Pharmacology, 5th Edition. Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 0443 071454

Mycek, Harvey and Champe (2000): Lippincott’s Illustrated Reviews Pharmacology, 2nd Edition. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.  ISBN 07817 24139

Programme Feedback

At the end of each Semester, students will have an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback in the form of questionnaires, as well as liaising with their class representatives.

Class representatives

There will be two student representatives elected, one from the Undenominated Science stream and one from the Biomedical Science stream, who will represent the class and participate in the Staff-Student meetings, one of which takes place in the middle of each Semester.  These representatives will be elected at the end of September.

 

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