Course Coordinator:

Prof. Fred WONG Wai Shiu (Sem 1) (phcwongf@nus.edu.sg)
Dr. Serena SEAH Bee Kee (Sem 2) (s.seah@nus.edu.sg)

Course Description:

This course aims to provide basic principles of receptor pharmacology and of pharmacokinetics with emphasis on molecular and cellular mechanisms of action, clinical uses and adverse effects using lectures, tutorials and practicals. The lecture topics will start with the classical drug receptor theory followed by pharmacokinetics and molecular pharmacology of drug receptors and their regulation including receptor-mediated signal transduction and membrane ion channel function. Autonomic pharmacology (adrenergic and cholinergic) will be introduced. The course also focuses on the pharmacology of autacoids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, anti-asthma drugs, and anti-arthritic drugs.

Course Coordinator:

Dr David FANN Yang-Wei (david.fann@nus.edu.sg)

Course Description:

This course focuses on the pharmacological drugs used to treat cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, with emphasis on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action(s), adverse effects, and clinical and contraindications; through lectures, tutorials, and laboratory practicals. The course will commence with lecture topics on the basic anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, followed by an understanding of the pharmacological drugs that are used to treat common cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Overall, this course aims to demonstrate the principles and clinical applications of these drugs in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

Course Coordinator:

A/P Judy SNG Chia Ghee (phcsngj@nus.edu.sg)

Course Description:

This course introduces the pharmacological treatment of nervous system. It covers the actions of drugs and how they affect cellular function in the nervous system, and the neural mechanisms through which they influence behavior. Examples of drugs used to treat diseases and disorders of the nervous systems will be discussed.

Course Coordinator:

Dr Rajkumar RAMAMOORTHY (rajkumar@nus.edu.sg)

Course Description:

Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on humans. This introductory course will cover the basics of toxicological science, from molecular mechanisms to quantitative risk assessment of hazardous compounds and for extrapolation from animal data to humans. The important concepts of toxicology will be illustrated with examples including drugs, natural toxins, industrial chemicals, and environmental toxicants.

Course Coordinator:

A/P Gautam SETHI (phcgs@nus.edu.sg)

Course Description:

Despite significant scientific discoveries and breakthroughs in the past century, cancer remains a deadly disease with very limited effective treatment today. This course provides students the concepts of and understanding on how scientists discover novel molecular targets against cancers and how pharmaceutical industries develop and evaluate the candidate drugs from preclinical models to clinical trials. This course introduces students to the general principles of drug actions that underpin their therapeutic applications against cancers, from conventional (non-specific) chemotherapy to target-specific drugs. It also provides the details of drugs used in specific cancer types, ranging from those with proven efficacy in clinics to experimental agents in trials. Overall the course enables the students to acquire the current understanding and latest information on cancer treatments ranging from drugs with proven efficacy to experimental/conceptual drugs, grasp new paradigms and advanced knowledge on cancer initiation, progression, drug development and evaluation, and understand drug discovery from screening to trials against various malignancies.

Course Coordinator:

Dr Nurulhuda MUSTAFA (Sem 1) (huda.mustafa@nus.edu.sg)

Dr LE Thi Nguyet Minh (Sem 2) (phcltnm@nus.edu.sg)

Course Description:

This course will cover the stages that a drug that is developed for clinical use goes through before it is marketed: discovery/synthesis, preclinical studies, clinical drug trials, registration and post-market surveillance. The different phases of clinical drug trials and the guidelines for good clinical practice will be discussed. At the end of the course the students will have an overview of the processes involved in bringing a drug from the laboratory to the market.