MSBS 634: Pharmacology and Toxicology

This course provides information on the principles of pharmacology and introduces students to the concept of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug targets, drug-receptor interactions, signal transduction, molecular basis of drug metabolism. The fundamental concepts of dose-response relationships, pharmacokinetic models, drug-receptor interaction, absorption, distribution, biotransformation and elimination are covered and will provide the students with the necessary background for understanding how drugs affect living tissues. This will be followed by an overview of drugs treating the major disease states. Drug design and the drug discovery and approval process will be discussed. The course focuses upon the principles of pharmacology and not on specific pharmacotherapeutics, although several drugs are used to illustrate general principles.