ADVANCED PHARMACOLOGY - 2028/9

Module Overview

This optional module lets you explore advanced pharmacology, including how drugs act on complex targets, key drug classes, biologics, and emerging areas like personalized medicine and drug resistance. Through labs and workshops, you¿ll gain practical skills and learn to analyse drug effects and interactions, connecting molecular mechanisms to real-world therapeutic applications.

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2028/9 academic year.

Module provider

Chemistry

Module Leader

PINNA Alessandra (Chst Chm Eng)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

Advanced pharmacodynamics: biased agonism, allosteric modulation, receptor desensitisation, functional selectivity

Neuropharmacology, oncology, immunopharmacology: drug classes, mechanism of action at cellular and molecular level, drug-drug interactions

Biologics, protein-protein and RNA interactions

Epigenetics and Nuclear targets

Advanced topics: host-microbiome interactions, pharmacology of rare & orphan diseases, systems & personalized pharmacology, drug resistance

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

For the group coursework, an alternative assessment may be set where appropriate. This may comprise an individual or group presentation or a written assessment, designed to assess the same learning outcomes, including the decision-making process and collaborative elements where applicable.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to evaluate both individual understanding of core principles and the ability to apply this knowledge in realistic, multidisciplinary contexts.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Coursework: addresses learning outcomes: 4, and 5

• Examination: addresses learning outcomes: 1, 2 and 3

Interactive and formative assessment is designed to support your learning and development by providing ongoing feedback and opportunities to consolidate knowledge, develop practical skills, and link theory to practice. It includes activities such as in-class quizzes, problem-solving exercises, workshops, and group discussions. In laboratory sessions, formative assessment is provided through guided worksheets, and informal feedback from instructors, enabling you to prepare for experiments, interpret results, and refine practical techniques before submitting summative lab reports. These activities are intended to help you identify areas for improvement, enhance critical thinking, and develop transferable skills such as teamwork, scientific communication, and data analysis, ensuring you are well-prepared for the summative assessments and for progression to more advanced pharmaceutics content in later years.

Feedback will be provided throughout the module during lectures, through interactions in laboratory and workshop sessions, and on individual laboratory reports and presentations. This will include general guidance to the whole group as well as specific feedback on work to support learning and development. In addition, one-to-one feedback can be requested by appointment with the module leader or relevant lecturer, providing opportunities for further discussion and clarification of concepts

Module aims

• Develop deeper understanding of pharmacological principles and mechanisms underlying drug action
• Introduce emerging areas in pharmacology
• Introduce emerging areas including biologics, personalised medicine, systems pharmacology and drug resistance
• Apply pharmacological reasoning to assess therapeutic potential and challenges in drug development
• Develop professional communication and teamwork skills through case-based evaluation of pharmacological scenarios

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to provide you with a broad and integrated overview of pharmacology, alongside a solid theoretical foundation in the subject matter. The teaching approach emphasises critical thinking, rationale development, and informed decision-making, enabling you to evaluate drug properties, biological barriers, and formulation options and to clearly justify the most appropriate route of administration. This approach equips you with the skills required to confidently assess formulation strategies and delivery routes in your future professional practice.

The learning and teaching methods include:

Lectures: delivered primarily through PowerPoint and led by experienced members of academic staff with subject-specific expertise. The lectures will focus on developing a broad understanding of pharmacology principles. Sessions will be interactive, with regular opportunities for students to ask questions, engage in guided problem-solving and reflective thinking, and receive timely feedback from staff and peers.

Laboratory sessions: delivered by experienced academic staff, supported by trained demonstrators who will be available throughout each session to provide guidance and assistance at every stage of the practical work. The laboratory activities are closely aligned with the lecture content and are designed to help students develop essential practical skills while reinforcing and conceptualising the fundamental principles introduced in lectures. Students will collect, process, and present experimental data for reporting purposes, thereby enhancing their analytical skills and developing their digital capabilities.

Workshops: delivered by experienced academic staff with subject-specific expertise and will adopt a problem-based learning approach centred on relevant, real-world scenarios. Students will be provided with structured exercises that encourage application of core concepts, critical thinking, and professional judgement. Dedicated time will be allocated for students to work through tasks individually and collaboratively, with ongoing opportunities to interact with the lecturer, ask questions, and engage in discussion. Each session will conclude with lecturer-led feedback, including worked solutions and guided reflection, to consolidate learning and support the development of transferable skills relevant to future academic study and professional practice.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: CHE3079

Other information

The school of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience.

Your digital capabilities will be strengthened through the preparation and online submission of coursework, report writing, and engagement with digital learning resources. Global and cultural capabilities will be developed through multidisciplinary group work, where you will collaborate with peers from different disciplinary backgrounds, reflecting the diverse and international nature of pharmaceutical development teams. You will build resourcefulness and resilience by engaging with laboratory and problem-based activities that require you to interpret unexpected results, adapt your approach, and support your decisions using scientific literature. Together, these experiences enhance your employability by developing your ability to work collaboratively, think critically, communicate effectively, and make informed decisions in realistic pharmaceutical contexts.