MEDSCI 716 : Advanced Drug Disposition and Kinetics
Medical and Health Sciences
2024 Semester One (1243) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
Course Contacts
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
| Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Synthesise knowledge of the different processes of drug disposition and pharmacokinetics and how these processes interact together (Capability 3, 4 and 5)
- Critically evaluate why ADME and PK properties should be determined during drug discovery and how these properties influence decision making (Capability 3, 4 and 5)
- Compare and contrast differing techniques for measuring ADME properties (Capability 3 and 5)
- Develop knowledge of why PK/PD relationships should be investigated and use critical thinking to evaluate what this information can be used for (Capability 3, 4 and 5)
- Develop solutions to optimise ADME and PK properties using medicinal chemistry knowledge (Capability 3 and 5)
- Evaluate how gene mutations or variations in gene expression can impact drug response in different patients (Capability 3)
- Compare and contrast common techniques for analysing drug concentrations in biological samples (Capability 3)
- Develop solutions for how ADME/PK data can be applied and critically evaluate the benefits of applying this data (Capability 4 and 5)
- Critically evaluate the scientific literature (Capability 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8)
- Interpret and communicate through oral presentations and writing scientific reports (Capability 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Final Exam | 50% | Individual Examination |
| Assignments | 30% | Individual Coursework |
| Presentation | 20% | Group Coursework |
| 3 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Final Exam | ||||||||||
| Assignments | ||||||||||
| Presentation | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 24 hours of lectures, approximately 70 hours of reading and thinking about the content and approximately 60 hours of work on assignments and presentations.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is expected at scheduled activities to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings.
The course will include student presentations during lecture sessions, for which attendance is required.
Attendance on campus is not required for the exam, which will be delivered remotely at the timetabled time.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
The reading for this course will involve recent papers and reviews from the literature. Students should be familiar with how to access these from Medline or Pubmed. Tutorials are available from the Philson Library if required. Access to lecture material from MEDSCI 204 and MEDSCI 318 can be made available on Canvas on request.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Details of the assignment will be released earlier in the course to give students more time to complete the assignment
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.
The delivery mode may change depending on COVID restrictions. Any changes will be communicated through Canvas.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.