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Unit of study_
PHAR2811: Drug Discovery and Design A
2024 unit information
This unit of study aims to provide the background to the study of drugs and the important interactions of drugs and their targets. Learning about the molecular bases of such interactions requires consideration of the fundamental processes as replication, transcription and translation involving the macromolecules of life: proteins, DNA and RNA. The course also covers fundamental protein actions and mechanisms of the regulation of such targets, and proteomics, as well as fundamental molecular interactions important for understanding the action of, the detection of, and also diagnostic approaches applied to drugs and metabolites. Fuel metabolism and storage is considered, including metabolic adaptation and disorders of metabolism. Students get experience with a variety of practical techniques to assist learning in the course.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Pharmacy
| Code | PHAR2811 |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Pharmacy |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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(CHEM1611 or CHEM11X2 or CHEM19X2 or CHEM1904) and (CHEM1612 or CHEM11X1 or CHEM19X1 or CHEM1903) and PHAR1812 and (BIOL1XX7 or MBLG1XX1) |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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None |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative measurements, and obtain quantitative measurements of metabolite concentrations and enzyme activities in an accurate and reproducible manner
- LO2. assess the quality of, interpret, and draw conclusions from data obtained in the laboratory
- LO3. use relevant scientific laboratory and instrumental techniques in the context of structured experiments with expected outcomes
- LO4. describe enzyme action, including the important enzyme inhibition mechanisms, and calculate the associated quantifying descriptors
- LO5. describe major components of amino acids and protein structure, and give diagrammatic representations
- LO6. give important examples of how protein structure provides biological function, including describing major categories of roles for proteins
- LO7. describe the complexity of the eukaryotic genome and its structure in detail and identify the key constituent elements
- LO8. outline the specific processes by which genetic information is transmitted from one generation to the next and analyse the flow of this information within the cell
- LO9. describe and evaluate the steps involved in gene transcription and translation and evaluate the different ways by which gene expression can be regulated
- LO10. describe in detail the main anabolic and catabolic processes in the cell, and discuss how variations in energy demand and supply affect these processes
- LO11. compare and contrast the integration of anabolic and catabolic processes in the cells, and predict how perturbations to these processes, including fuel selection and genetic mutation, affect the cell and whole organism
- LO12. summarise the catabolic and anabolic fates of dietary nitrogen, and predict how the synthesis and degradation of nitrogenous biopolymers are affected in contexts such as starvation, diabetes and cancer
- LO13. describe proteome and proteomics, and approaches to identifying proteins in a proteome, and begin to understand how proteomics could be utilised in both diagnosis and understanding.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
Modes of attendance (MoA)
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.
