CHEM 4555 - Pharmacology

Prerequisites: one year of undergraduate organic chemistry (CHEM 2201, CHEM 2202 or equivalent) and one term of biochemistry (BIOL 4461 or equivalent). Recommended: an advanced undergraduate organic chemistry course (CHEM 4501 or equivalent), and at least one course in biochemistry or in cell biology (BIOL 3308, BIOL 3311 or equivalent). Pharmacology is the study of therapeutics: agents administered to achieve a beneficial therapeutic effect on some disease process. This survey course will cover a general overview of pharmacology including principles of pharmacodynamics (mechanism of action of drugs) and pharmacokinetics (the role of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion in drug action). The general concepts will be applied into case studies of specific drugs taken from the main classes of therapeutic agents. 3 credits.