Achieving effective treatment of a disease, while minimizing adverse effects of a drug, requires rational selection, formulation and administration of an appropriate dosage form. Drugs are, first and foremost, molecules exhibiting both individual molecular properties, as well as the collective properties of molecules which make up the dose of an administered medication. This course will focus on the basic principles governing molecules, then consider equilibrium and kinetic phenomena and conclude with properties exhibited by dispersed systems such as colloids and dispersions. Information presented in the course will be foundational to subsequent Principles of Pharmaceutical Sciences courses, particularly the Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms course.

This second course in the Principles of Pharmaceutical Sciences sequence is designed to familiarize students in the BSPS program with general principles of drug action. Topics include an introduction to general terminology, drug-receptor interactions, receptor and ion channels, and second messengers.

The purpose of this course is to provide a foundational knowledge in the concepts of pharmaceutics that are important for the design and function of pharmaceutical dosage forms. The course complements and completes PPS301, and applies pharmaceutics to dosage forms ranging from liquid and solid dosage forms to more complex novel and advanced delivery forms such as products of biotechnology.

The goal of this course is to introduce undergraduate students to the breadth of techniques used within the laboratories of pharmaceutical scientists. Students will discuss literature pertinent to the faculty member's research, and participate in laboratory activities. Students will complete laboratory safety training, and learn what is involved in planning, conducting and disseminating research.

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs is due in large part to the chemical nature of drugs as molecules. This course considers the chemical characteristic of molecules that are important to the development and use of drugs. Topics to be considered include functional group characteristics and roles, drug binding and the effect of stereochemistry on drug action.

This course builds upon the Principles of Pharmaceutical Sciences course sequence to describe primary determinants of the disposition of drugs in the body, namely absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME). Rudimentary dosing in response to ADME is calculated, and the impact of factors that may alter pharmacokinetics of drugs is presented in the final portion of the course.

An understanding of the drug development process will be foundational to the career choice of the student earning the undergraduate degree in pharmaceutical sciences. This course will provide the foundational info, as well as introduce the students to scientists who have chosen to work in industry or academia so that they may informally discuss their career choices and experiences with them.

This course focuses on two areas of relevance to the pharmaceutical industry that utilize vast amounts of information from populations (informatics) as well as specific information from individuals (pharmacogenomics) to ultimately lead to more effective and personalized utilization of medicines.

Critical to students' development as pharmaceutical scientists is the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of faculty members. Working with the faculty member mutually-selected by the student and faculty advisor, the student is expected to develop a 2-semester hypothesis driven research project, conduct the necessary experiments to address the aims of the research project, and subsequently present the results of the research project in a forum that is open to the members of the department.

Critical to students' development as pharmaceutical scientists is the opportunity to conduct research under the guidance of faculty members. Working with the faculty member mutually-selected by the student, the student is expected to develop a 2-semester hypothesis driven research project, conduct the necessary experiments to address the aims of the research project, and subsequently present the results of the research project in a forum that is open to the members of the department. This course will complete the requirements for the project initiated in the fall semester.