Graduate Courses

Coordinator: Lu-Yang Wang and Michael Salter

This course is offered in alternate years.

This course will focus upon selected topics in molecular genetics and cellular neurobiology. Students will be expected to make presentations based upon appropriate literature listed by the teaching faculty. Participation in discussions will also be required. There will be no didactic lectures. Presentation topics will be chosen from the following topics:

• Topic 1: Signaling in cells of the nervous system (eg. molecular biology transmitter receptors and ion channels, second messenger regulation, signal transduction systems).
• Topic 2: Development of Cells of the Nervous System (eg. cytoskeleton; genetics of neural development; nerve guidance and synapse formation; the ontogeny of neural cells; myelin).
• Topic 3: Plasticity of the Nervous System (eg. long term potentiation; glutamate receptors; learning and memory).
• Topic 4: Molecular Genetics of Neural Diseases (eg. Type II neurofibramatosis as a casestudy; Alzheimers, Huntingtons, MS, ALS).

Coordinator: Drs. Nicole Mittmann & Prateek Lala

This course introduces fundamental principles of clinical research and provides students with the skills necessary for the design, execution, analysis, and critical evaluation of clinical studies in pharmacology. Students will become familiar with various research approaches, methodologies, and strategies commonly employed in clinical pharmacology. Specifically, lectures will cover observational and experimental study designs and techniques; clinical data measurements, collection, and analysis; evidence review (systematic reviews/meta-analysis); ethical, legal, and regulatory guidelines governing clinical research; safety monitoring and adverse event reporting (pharmacovigilance); and key principles of pharmacoeconomics. In addition, students will be introduced to current topics and conceptual issues related to clinical research in pharmacology, and will learn to critically appraise clinical research.

Coordinator: Dr. Laurie Zawertailo

This course is offered in alternate years.

The goal of this course is to examine the methodological and experimental basis of studying the effects of drugs on behaviour. Throughout the course the relationship of pre-clinical behavioural pharmacology to human behavioural pharmacology is compared. There will be a strong emphasis on how behavioural studies can assist in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and identification of novel  therapeutic approaches for various addictions. Part I will introduce basic concepts and general background covering the principles of behavioural pharmacology and theories of addiction will be covered, with a focus on licit drugs. This approach ensures that students somewhat weaker in relevant areas of psychology or pharmacology are able to gain such knowledge early in the course. 

Coordinator: Dr. Laurie Zawertailo

This course is offered in alternate years.

The goal of this course is to explore innovations in the treatment of addictive disorders from a mechanistic and clinical effectiveness perspective.  Throughout the course the relationship of pre-clinical behavioural pharmacology to human behavioural pharmacology is compared. There will be a strong emphasis on how behavioural studies can assist in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and identification of novel therapeutic approaches for various addictions.

Coordinator: Dr. Peter McPherson

A survey course examining several contemporary topics in toxicology with emphasis on human/mammalian toxicology. Topics in the course may include: adverse drug reactions, acute poisonings, natural toxins, maternal-fetal toxicology, forensic toxicology, environmental chemistry, pesticides, dioxins, endocrine disruptors, regulatory toxicology, occupational toxicology, food toxicology, herbal products, alcohol, smoking, and drugs of abuse. Students are evaluated by their performance on written tests and assignments.

Pre-requisites

• Recommended Preparation: BCH210H, PCL201H,  PCL302H, PCL362H, or their equivalents
• Non-Pharmacology graduate students will require permission from the course coordinator to enroll and should submit an Add/Drop Course form

Coordinators: Drs. Peter McPherson and Kangbin Zhou

This course is to expose students to career options in the pharmaceutical industry and the regulatory approval process in Canada.

Coordinator: Drs. Krista Lanctôt and Walter Swardfager

This online synchronous module is designed to expose students to the state-of-the-art in contemporary clinical research methods  (observational and interventions) relevant to drug discovery in treating and preventing dementia.

Coordinator: Dr. Cindy Woodland

This  course  explores  a  variety  of  topics  in  clinical  pharmacology  with  emphasis  on  the application  of  pharmacokinetic  principles. Clinical  cases  are  used  to  highlight  a  breadth of topics  in  clinical pharmacology  and  toxicology including variability in drug response, adverse drug reactions, clinical study design, and pharmacoeconomics.

Coordinator: Dr. Bernd Pohlmann-Eden

This course is meant to get a “hands-on experience” of Clinical Pharmacology applied to Epilepsy and First Seizure Presentations, which reflect the most frequent type of brain disorders. The participants will learn:

• the basic pathophysiological concept for treating seizure disorder in all stages (first seizure, new-onset epilepsy, refractory epilepsy);
• the range of medications available with their historical background and putative mechanism;
• the importance of individually tailored treatment;
• various frequent clinical scenarios and their impact on drug choice (pregnancy, elderly, bone health);
• emergency treatment of status epilepticus;
• the most important lessons we got from clinical trials.

Coordinator: Dr. Anita Hamadanizadeh

The overall goal of this laboratory course is to provide students with practical experience and understanding of experimental methods used in clinical pharmacology research. The 12-session course will be taught through a combination of wet labs and dry labs. During wet labs, groups (~3-5 individuals per group) will be given a drug that they will investigate in the laboratory. Dry labs will involve lectures, case studies, and assignments. Topics will include assessments of drug solubility, absorption/bioavailability and bioequivalence, distribution and protein binding, biotransformation, renal excretion, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics modeling, drug-drug interaction, and assessment of pharmacodynamic effects.