Graduate Courses

Coordinator: Dr. Peter McPherson

This course is designed to give graduate students an understanding of basic concepts of molecular research approaches surrounding the use of recombinant DNA and related technologies in pharmacology research.

Coordinator: Dr. Rebecca Laposa

The aim of this course is to provide instruction on the basic principles of drug development, with a primary focus on the application of fundamental principles of pharmacology and toxicology to the design and conduct of early phase clinical trials. Students will become familiar with the standard safety and pharmacokinetic assessments that take place during early clinical development, as well as with proof-of-concept and proof-of-mechanism studies, evaluations of exposure- toxicity relationships and refinement of dose selection for later phase trials. In addition to actual clinical studies, the course will examine various modeling approaches that are also conducted during drug development. At the end of the course, students should understand the phases of drug development, be able to design an early phase clinical study, understand the standardized practices and ethical implications of clinical research, and be aware of some of the scientific and non-scientific career paths/roles in drug development.

Coordinator: Drs. Peter McPherson and Wai Haung (Ho) Yu

Researchers require many skillsets to be successful. Increasingly, it is important to develop a broad range of practices to support your research, be it in an academic setting, not-for-profit or for-purpose environment. This module will provide a knowledge base using first-person perspectives and best practices to develop a program that supports diverse career objectives. In particular, will learn how to apply for research funding and scholarships, how to enter and navigate a career in the pharmaceutical industry, and how to communicate research findings to various stakeholders.

Coordinator: Dr. Peter McPherson

This is a required course for Ph.D. students. By the end of Year 1, PhD students are required to have successfully completed their first supervisory committee meeting. A required component of the first meeting is to present a written PhD project proposal to committee members that will be orally presented and defended at the first meeting. 

This modular course will introduce the concepts and craft required to create a compelling and effective Research Proposal through 4 sessions throughout Year 1. Session 1 will cover essential features of a Research Proposal, the following 3 sessions will be in a tutorial-style format with students presenting and receiving feedback on their evolving project proposals from student peers and faculty. This is a CR/NCR course, the final assessment of the Research Proposal will be undertaken by members of the initial Supervisory Committee Meeting.

Students may wish to include a 4-month (PCL2101Y or PCL2102Y) or 8-month (PCL2100Y) placement option with an approved employment site (e.g., pharmaceutical company, contract research organization (CRO), consulting business, government agency, healthcare partner). The placement is an opportunity for students to explore and immerse themselves in areas such as drug development, medical writing, adverse event reporting, pharmacokinetic analysis, and clinical trial design and management.

Coordinator: Dr. Cindy Woodland

This is a Credit/Non-Credit course.

Coordinator: Dr. Peter McPherson

Seminars are given by invited external speakers, Department faculty members and doctoral students. Although students are not expected to attend every seminar, a minimum attendance level of 50 seminars is required, to receive course credit, and students will be penalized for a poor attendance record. The penalty will be essay assignment(s) on seminar topics that the student has missed. Additional requirements for this course are the presentation of two Departmental seminars during the course of the PhD program.

No formal grade is assigned to PCL1003Y. It is a Credit/Non-Credit course.

Coordinator: Dr. Rachel Harding

Students enrolled in this course will learn a comprehensive overview of the principles and practical techniques involved in early-phase drug discovery and target validation. Students will learn about drug target identification and validation; assay development and screening; hit optimisation; lead identification for preclinical studies; and emerging methods in modern drug discovery. Emphasis will be placed on the multi-disciplinary nature of this stage of the drug discovery pipeline, ensuring a breadth of training on key techniques and principles of molecular biology, protein biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, computational chemistry, and pharmacology.

Coordinator: Dr. Cindy Woodland

This course emphasizes the roles of new methodologies, appropriate statistical approaches and analyses, critical thinking, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence in advancing drug development, clinical research, and patient care. Concepts from this course will be applied throughout the ACP program.

Coordinator: Drs. Peter McPherson and Martin Beaulieu

Systems Pharmacology I examines a variety of drugs and drug classes with an emphasis on drugs acting on the central nervous system and immune systems as well as those used in cancer and infectious diseases. A comprehensive approach to drug properties and the interactions of these drugs with the human body are discussed with a focus on mechanisms of drug action, clinical indications and adverse effects. Drugs are introduced in lecture sessions and discussed from a clinical perspective in small group sessions. Small group sessions involve in-depth examinations of the scientific literature and clinical cases.