Drug Discovery

Module description
This module is for you if you want to study major diseases and the science behind the drugs used to treat them. You will also learn about designing clinical trials, pharmaceutical market regulation and Good Clinical Practices (GMP). The study is designed to inform and inspire anyone who is interested in a career in medicines discovery and pharmaceutical sciences.

Module specific pre-requisites: Applicants must have had a focus on science at school leaving level.

This module will consist of a minimum of 45 contact hours with teaching taking place between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday. An indicative timetable will be available shortly and a detailed timetable for this module will be available on KEATS from June 2020.

Learning outcomes and objectives

By the end of the module, you should have:

• developed the ability to explain the structure of the drug discovery/development pipeline
• classified the types of drugs small molecules to biologic / gene therapy
• understood how drugs are tested to see if they work (efficacy) and if they are safe (toxicology and safety pharmacology)
• developed the ability to explain how the drug are formulated to optimise delivery, explain how clinical trials are conducted and explain the role of the medicines regulator
• understood and be able to explain how drugs are monitored once they are in use by the public 

Staff information
Taught by academics from the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine

Teaching pattern

• Lectures
• Seminars and tutorials
• Private study

Module assessment - more information

• In-class participation (10%)
• workshop participation (10%)
• Team-based learning course work (40%)
• Team-based learning presentation (40%)