MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences

The course is designed to develop a fundamental knowledge base of pharmaceutical drug dosage forms and drug delivery systems. The course will emphasize the fundamental concepts of physiochemical properties of drugs that are critical for their therapeutic effects. The course will also address in depth the formulation process including novel technologies for preparing dispensable medicines. Concepts of medicinal chemistry and computational chemistry will be emphasized as they apply throughout the course.

The course will cover the fundamental concepts of drug-receptor interactions, signal transduction pathways and molecular biology as they relate to several diseases. The course will relate these principles to the pharmacology of the drugs. The course will encompass discussion of primary literature.

This course focuses on understanding the technologies that required for the development, production, and manufacture of biological drugs. This class will introduce students to the molecular principles, methods and advanced developmental techniques utilized in the production of therapeutic proteins, hormones, antibodies, and DNA based vaccines. Pharmaceutical delivery methods with an emphasis on controlled release formulations will also be focused in this course. The roles of economic considerations, regulatory issues and the approval of biopharmaceuticals will also be incorporated throughout the course as applicable.

The course introduces students to ethics of laboratory research. There will be lecture and active case discussions. The course will cover responsible conduct of research. The course will also provide basic principles and methods of hypothesis generation, designing objectives and project development.

Seminar course will involve critical evaluation and discussion of research and current literature in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The student will assess, develop, and present an individual presentation focusing on a specific Pharmaceutical Sciences topic chosen in consultation with the Course Coordinator. The goal of this course is to develop and enhance students’ competency in delivering seminars on research topics in Pharmaceutical Sciences. 

The course will provide opportunity for students to spend time in three laboratories during the semester. The rotations will include reading publications of the lab and understanding the research in each laboratory to help the students in learning various directions of research to identify laboratories where they would carry out the thesis research in their program.

The course prepares students to understand and develop expertise in the methodologies used in the laboratory.

Students will learn to apply their knowledge to a scientific problem. The students will develop hypothesis, objectives and plan experiments to address the scientific problem. The students will search primary literature for understanding the area of research and methods. The course will involve written and oral communications as well as problem solve methodology. The scholarly work could be published and presented at scientific meetings. The students will develop a deep understanding of the equipment for research and problem solving. All compliance requirements including safety are followed by the students enrolled in this research course.

Seminar course will involve critical evaluation and discussion of research and current literature in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The student will assess, develop, and present an individual presentation focusing on a specific Pharmaceutical Sciences topic chosen in consultation with the Course Coordinator. The goal of this course is to develop and enhance students’ competency in delivering seminars on research topics in Pharmaceutical Sciences. 

Students will learn to apply their knowledge to a scientific problem. The students will develop hypothesis, objectives and plan experiments to address the scientific problem. The students will search primary literature for understanding the area of research and methods. The course will involve written and oral communications as well as problem solve methodology. The students will develop a deep understanding of the equipment for research and problem solving. All compliance requirements including safety are followed by the students enrolled in this research course.