Entry requirements

Within the pharmacy program, it is required that the student has at least 120 credits (80 Swedish credits,) of which 60 within bioscience, pharmacy or pharmaceutical chemistry, or equivalent knowledge from pharmaceutical, medical, veterinary science, dental, or natural science education. For the civil engineering programs chemical engineering, molecular biotechnology, and bioinformatics required are at least 120 credits, of which 60 within bioscience.

For single subject course, it is required that the student has 120 credits. At least 60 credits within bioscience, pharmacy or pharmaceutical chemistry, or equivalent knowledge from pharmaceutical, medical, veterinary science, dental, or natural science education.

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide basic knowledge of how bioinformatics tools can be used to solve problems within pharmacology, pharmacy, and pharmaceutical chemistry. On completion of the course the student should be able to:

- understand and describe how bioinformatics tools can be used within pharmaceutical research

- use bio- and chemoinformatics programs for e.g. sequence alignment, 3D visualisation, and structure-activity relationship based methods such as proteochemometrics

- seek relevant information in biological and chemical databases

- calculate the properties (descriptors) of potential drugs, and correlate these to target protein interactions through bioinformatic modelling

- interpret and validate results of above-mentioned methods.

Content

The course covers the basics of how bioinformatics can be used within pharmacy, e.g., in design of new drugs. Focus lies on understanding and use of programs rather than the underlying mathematical theories. The course presents introduction and historical account of pharmaceutical bioinformatics, biological and chemical databases, theory and methods for analysis of experimental data, design of experiments and calculation of the properties of drug candidates, proteochemometrics, docking, microarrays, and virtual drug screening of chemical databases.

Instruction

The course is Internet-based and is given as half-time studies. The learning comprises supervised individual studies mainly via web-based teaching platform that also is utilised for group exercises, discussions and assignments. Communication between participants and teachers takes place via the website and via e-mail. Compulsory parts are assignments, which are carried out via the website.

Assessment

Written examination at the end of the course and passed compulsory parts. Completion of compulsory parts of the course may be done at the earliest at the next course and then only if there is a vacancy.