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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work 2019 Subject coordinators:

Dr Michelle Hansen & Dr Makhala Khammy Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Subject email:

[email protected]

Subject Outline and Objectives Pharmacology is an exciting discipline that examines the actions of drugs on the body. Pharmacologists use this information not only to develop important new drugs, but also to generate fundamental information about how the body itself works in health and disease. This course provides you with significant insights into the actions of commonly used drugs, both desirable and possibly toxic, and will lead to stimulating discussion with your classmates and friends alike. Pharmacology: How Drugs Work (PHRM20001) uses specific examples of clinically used drugs to establish the core elements that underpin the discipline of Pharmacology. During this course, you will see that Pharmacologists integrate knowledge from numerous other biosciences to identify molecular targets for therapy and to design and test the effectiveness of new drugs. The course examines the interactions of drugs with receptors, enzymes and other molecules in the body to show how this can be useful in the treatment of diseases such as cancer, hypertension, asthma and depression. Drugs of abuse, such as heroin, are also discussed along with the regulation of prescription and over-the-counter medications. Pharmacology: How Drugs Work (PHRM20001) also explores the processes that lead to removal of drugs from the body, an important consideration that decides the dose and frequency of drug administration. The importance of person to person genetic variation to drug responses is also examined. The lecture material is integrated with both self-directed learning exercises and practical classes to increase your understanding. Practicals also enable you to get hands-on experience in conducting pharmacological experiments and in analysing and presenting your own data. Pharmacology: How Drugs Work (PHRM20001) provides an overview of each of the areas that are expanded upon in the various 3rd year Pharmacology subjects and integrates particularly well into all the health sciences. On completion of this subject students should be able to: • Apply pharmacological approaches to problem solving. • Participate effectively in group work. • Make use of IT resources in data presentation. • Be able to apply quantitative analysis to data.

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

Course Information 2019

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

Course Information 2019

Types of classes and assessment Info This subject involves a variety of different teaching styles including lectures, workshops, and practical sessions. Lectures Lectures are scheduled 3 times a week and are delivered by Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics staff. Whilst lectures will be recorded via ‘Lecture Capture’, recordings are not a substitute for lecture attendance. Technical difficulties with lecture capture will not warrant special consideration . Workshops There are 6 Workshops scheduled throughout the semester. Five Workshops will be used to review the material that has been covered in the preceding lectures and following each of these Workshops an online quiz will be released. Workshop 5 will provide feedback from the mid-semester test. The quizzes will form part of your ongoing assessment and will provide feedback on your understanding of the topics covered. Practical Sessions You will be required to attend 2 practical sessions in the Pharmacology Practical class (Room 204 Wet lab2, WEBS Building 125) over the course of the semester. These will be held on either a Thursday or Friday afternoon. The practicals are designed to complement your lectures by demonstrating principles and reinforcing your understanding, with the relevant lectures highlighted in the practical notes. Additionally, through experience of pharmacological procedures you will acquire evaluative and technical skills. We STRONGLY recommend writing the dates of your practical sessions into your printed timetable and your calendar and/or personal diary at the start of the semester. Assessment tasks associated with your practical sessions are worth 10% of your final mark and you will only be able to access this assessment after attending your practical session. Practical 1 and Practical 2 will each be assessed by an online quiz. You will need to complete the quizzes associated with Practical 1 and Practical 2 at the start of the week following your practical sessions.

Note: Completion of at least 75% of the practicals, and practical-related exercises (associated online quizzes), is a hurdle requirement. Any matters relating to assessment and attendance of practicals must be brought to the attention of one of the unit coordinators. A medical certificate is required for absence due to illness, and should be submitted to the subject email address [email protected] . Online Quizzes There will be 5 online LMS quizzes run over the semester and these will be available from 9 am the day following the associated Workshop. The quizzes will be comprised of multiple choice questions delivered via the LMS. The quizzes are worth 10% of your final mark for the subject and will provide feedback on your understanding of the concepts presented. Mid-semester test There will be a 40 minute mid-semester test (MST) at 10 am on Tuesday 10th September. More information about the structure of this test will be provided in the lecture held on Tuesday, August 28th. The MST is worth 20% of your final mark for the subject. End-of semester exam There will be a 2 hour written examination at the end of the semester. The examination consists of multiple choice questions (MCQs); Extended MCQs and mixed format questions. Together, these components of the written examination account for 60% of the total mark. Copies of past examination papers can be accessed via the LMS. In addition, the workshops and quizzes will provide you with experience of the MCQ styles used.

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

Course Information 2019

Use of Animals in Practical Teaching This course involves the use of animals and animal tissue for some experiments. Students should be aware that these experiments are an essential part of the course and exemption from this component is not possible. In all experiments that involve the use of isolated tissues and organs, the animals will be humanely and painlessly killed by experienced, qualified personnel. Any experiments that involve the use of specific procedures involving animals/animal tissues will be demonstrated at the start of or during the class. All experiments have been approved by the University of Melbourne's Animal Ethics Committee, in compliance with the NHMRC/CSIRO/AAC 'Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes'.

Resources Learning Management System (LMS) Pharmacology: How Drugs Work (PHRM20001) will be run via the University LMS system (http://www.lms.unimelb.edu.au). Please note that MOST, but not necessarily all, academic material will be available through the LMS, as soon as possible after the lecture for review, or catching up on something you missed. Lectures and Workshops will have audio recording via ‘Lecture Capture’ available via the LMS. Please note that ‘Lecture Capture’ recordings are not a substitute for lecture attendance, but they are intended to help students with revision during the semester and for the end of semester exam. Please bear in mind that that there may be technical faults with lecture capture from time to time. Technical difficulties with lecture capture will not warrant special consideration. Check both your email and the LMS regularly as important announcements (e.g. test results) amendments to the program, etc. can be made though these media.

PIAZZA We will be using PIAZZA. This is a platform within the LMS that will allow class-related discussions and answers to your questions regarding the lecture content. The quicker you begin asking questions on Piazza (rather than via emails), the quicker you'll benefit from the collective knowledge of your classmates and lecturers. We encourage you to ask questions when you are struggling to understand a concept - you can even do so anonymously. Your classmates can answer these questions and contribute to the discussion as can the lecturers. The lecturers can even endorse your answers! Access Piazza using the following link: https://piazza.com/unimelb.edu.au/winter2019/phrm20001_2019_sm2/home

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

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PeerWise We will be using a free and very easy to use online program known as PeerWise. This is a place where you will be able to write, share and evaluate Multiple Choice Questions with your classmates. Once semester gets started you will be able to access the PHRM20001 site by visiting PeerWise here: http://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz/at/?melb_au If you have not used PeerWise before, just click the "Registration" link and follow the prompts. All you need to do is choose a username and a password for your PeerWise account. If you have used PeerWise before, simply log in and then select "Join course" from the Home menu. To access our course, "PHRM200012019”, you will need to enter two pieces of information: 1) Course ID = 19595

2) Identifier = Please enter your student ID number

When writing your questions please make sure to assign a topic to your question. The topic definitions will make it easier for everyone to find questions on certain topics when revising. We hope that this will become a valuable resource of extra MCQs for you to revise and test yourself on the lecture content. In addition, by writing your own MCQs, providing an appropriate explanation of the answer and evaluating your classmates MCQs you will gain a much greater understanding of the lecture content. As extra incentive, we may even be able to use some of the questions on the End-of-Semester Exam!

Textbooks There is no prescribed textbook for this subject that fully covers the lecture material. We recommend a number however to augment your studies. In your decision to buy a textbook, you might like to consider if you plan to take any third year Pharmacology subjects. All of these textbooks are available in the library (or online) so you can always take a look before you decide if you want to buy. We recommend the following textbooks (in no particular order): •

Harvey, Pharmacology (Lippincott's Illustrated Reviews Series), 6th edition, 2014. Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins (a good basic textbook with nice summary diagrams) (the 5th edition is also fine).

•

Rang & Dale’s Pharmacology, 8th edition, 2016. Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone (a comprehensive textbook suited for 3rd year classes also; 7th edition also fine). Available online through the Unimelb Library ('Clinical Key’ collection): https://www-clinicalkey-com-au.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/#!/browse/book/3-s2.0-C20120031079

•

Katzung, Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, 14th edition, 2018. McGraw Hill Lange (a comprehensive textbook suited for 3rd year classes also; 13th edition also fine). Available online through the Unimelb Library ('Access Medicine' collection): https://accessmedicine-mhmedical-com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/book.aspx?bookid=2249

•

Wecker: Brody's Human Pharmacology, 6th edition, 2009. Mosby. Available online through the Unimelb Library ('Clinical Key’ collection): https://www-clinicalkey-com-au.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/#!/browse/book/3-s2.0-C20150057550

•

Golan, Armstrong & Armstrong. Principles of Pharmacology, 4th edition, 2017. Wolters Kluwer (a comprehensive textbook suited for 3rd year classes also- a somewhat more medical bias with nice case scenarios at start of chapters. 3rd edition also fine- new edition has more colourful diagrams)

•

Neal: Medical Pharmacology at a Glance, 8th edition, 2015. Wiley-Blackwell (good revision aid with double page spreads that summarize topics): https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unimelb/detail.action?docID=4182984

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

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Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Guidelines To ensure that everyone is aware of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics’ policy with regard to plagiarism, the following points should be noted: All academic staff of the Department actively encourage students to discuss problems and questions regarding practical or theory work with other students as this exchange is a vital ingredient in the education process. However, it is not permissible to reproduce or pass off, as your own, the work of others without due recognition. In addition, it is unacceptable to permit another student to copy or use your own work when that work forms part of the other student’s assessment i.e. both the originator and plagiarist are culpable. If you use an external source of information, normally that source should be acknowledged. Occasionally you may want to cite a source that you have found useful for your write-up, for example in answering a question. References should be cited in the text (at the place where you use the information contained within them) and listed at the end of your report. Failure to follow these guidelines may seriously affect your assessment. There are many resources to assist you in the path to greater academic scholarship and integrity. I recommend you take advantage of these resources. https://academichonesty.unimelb.edu.au The Academic Skills Unit offers free assistance to develop writing and study skills: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/academicskills Refer also to the University Policy on Plagiarism. In essence, while we encourage discussion and collaboration, copying is an offence and is not acceptable under any circumstances! If you require further guidance on what constitutes plagiarism you should talk to the subject coordinators.

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

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Student Feedback When practical classes commence, we will seek student representation to serve on the Staff-Student Liaison Committee of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. A meeting is held around midSeptember to provide an opportunity for students to provide feedback and voice any concerns. We welcome your involvement. At the end of each teaching semester, the University and Department seek feedback from students in the form of an online questionnaire. The information is collated and careful consideration is given to the student comments and any issues raised. We also provide feedback to the students of the changes resulting from consideration of the comments of the previous cohort, usually in the first lecture of each semester. Below are the average student responses to the 2018 questionnaire for this subject. 127 students or approximately 28% of the class responded.

RESPONSES 2018 1.

…intellectually stimulating.

4.4

2.

…well co-ordinated.

4.3

3.

…supported by useful learning resources.

4.0

4.

…well taught.

4.2

5.

…have been required to work at a high standard.

4.4

6.

…found the assessment tasks useful in guiding my study.

4.2

7.

…received valuable feedback on my progress.

3.9

8.

…learnt new ideas, approaches and/or skills.

4.3

9.

…learnt to apply knowledge to practice.

4.0

10.

…have been part of a group committed to learning.

3.9

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

Course Information 2019

3rd Year Pharmacology & Therapeutics Subjects The lecture content of PHRM20001 is designed to give you a taste of our 3rd year subjects that you might consider in 2020. You can enrol in one or more of the following subjects, depending on your interests. Drugs in Biomedical Experiments (Semester 1 or 2, 12.5 points) This practical-based subject is appropriate for all students interested in biomedical research. Students will learn how to design and perform experiments to investigate biological systems. Students will gain experience in a wide range of molecular and cellular approaches and in analytical techniques used in drug discovery. Please note: this is a quota-restricted subject. Drugs: From Discovery to Market (Semester 2, 12.5 points) Modern rational drug discovery and development is a coordinated, multidisciplinary undertaking. The cellular and molecular processes that can be targeted and the techniques used at each stage of the drug development process will be presented. Consideration will also be given to executive strategies underpinning this enterprise, such as scientific and economic aspects of target choice, lead optimisation and individual variation. Students will be encouraged to integrate knowledge from different parts of this subject with their broader studies, reinforcing the multidisciplinary nature of drug discovery and development. Drug Treatment of Disease (Semester 1, 12.5 points) Cancer, disorders of the immune system, cardiovascular diseases and acute and chronic lung disorders are the most common types of afflictions affecting people worldwide. This subject will examine the medicines that have been developed, or are currently being researched, to treat these diverse conditions. The mechanisms of action of the major classes of drugs used to treat these disorders and issues relating to their safe use will be covered. The importance of biotechnology to these therapeutic areas will also be considered. Drugs Affecting the Nervous System (Semester 2, 12.5 points) The workings of the brain present one of the last true unknowns in modern medicine and yet it is the target for a multitude of interesting and important drugs. This subject addresses the use of drugs in modulating processes of neurochemical transmission and neuronal survival in the context of the management of mood and emotional disorders, addictive behaviours, neuro-degenerative diseases, pain and epilepsy. This subject will also discuss strategies for development of future therapeutics and students will gain an appreciation of how a detailed understanding of pathological processes is important for rational development of new therapeutics.

Structure of a Pharmacology Major (50 points) •

Drugs in Biomedical Experiments (PHRM30009)(Semester 1 or 2)

and at least two of the following: •

Drug Treatment of Disease (PHRM30003) (Semester 1)

•

Drugs: From Discovery to Market (PHRM30008) (Semester 2)

•

Drugs Affecting the Nervous System (PHRM30002) (Semester 2)

If completing 37.5 points of PHRM3 subjects, the major requires •

One 12.5 point 3rd year subject from Anatomy and Neuroscience; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Chemistry; Microbiology and Immunology; Pathology; Physiology or Zoology.

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PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work

Course Information 2019

Appendix of Useful Pharmacological Terms (Adapted from Jenkinson et al, Pharmacological Reviews. 1995;47:255-266) USEFUL TERMS

SUGGESTED USAGE

Agonist

A ligand that binds to receptors & thereby alters the proportion of them that are in an active form, resulting in a biological response.

Antagonist

A drug that reduces the action of another drug, generally an agonist. Antagonists acting at the same receptor macromolecule as the agonist may be surmountable or insurmountable. Antagoni...