Pharmacology

Teaching staff: All pharmacology staff
Module code: 7BBMM012
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15 MCAT
Semester:  Semester 2 (spring);  summer session 1; 
Teaching pattern: Students select two of three oprional lecture module supplemented by research seminars.
Assessment:  presentation/s 
Assessment of the module unit is by a poster presentation at the end of August. It is the final unit of assessment of the programme.

Throughout the programme time is set aside to allow students to explore current concepts and issues in pharmacology, especially with respect to emerging drug targets or ideas concerning mechanisms of action. This course unit draws together material presented in all the other course units of the programme, including both lecture-based and project-based units. Students are encouraged to attend two of three optional lecture courses (pharmacology of the cardiovascular system, pharmacology of inflammation, pharmacology of neurological diseases).

Teaching staff: All pharmacology staff
Module code: 7BBMM006
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 30 MCAT
Teaching pattern: 

One to one supervision with same supervisor as research project 

Assessment:  coursework 
Conventional thesis of 8-10,000 words that is related in content to the laboratory research project.

The literature dissertation is a written literature survey dealing with an area of current research interest in Pharmacology. The dissertation will be written under the supervision of an individual member of staff, who will usually be the same person who supervises the Laboratory Research Project.

Teaching staff: Dr Andy Grant is module leader
Module code: 7BBMM014
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 15 MCAT
Semester:  Semester 1 (autumn) 
Assessment:  coursework;  practical/s; 

The course is designed to familiarise students with fundamentals of pharmacological experimentation and to encourage an hypothesis-led approach to research problems. Students will be required to use the data acquired during the practicals as the basis for writing three reports in the form of scientific papers. These reports will form the basis for assessment of the course unit.

All students will attend a three-day training module covering parts 1-4 of the UK Home Office License training requirements. The certificate obtained during this course is an essential requirement in the UK to allow students to apply to the UK Home Office for a license to perform experiments on living animals. A license of this type may be necessary for some of the laboratory-based project options.

The course also includes workshops on statistics, risk assessment and use of information resources.

Module code: 7BBMM010
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 60 MCATs
Semester:  Semester 2 (spring);  summer session 1; 
Assessment:  coursework 
Assessment is by preparation of a dissertation which is worth 80% of the assessment and by supevisor's assessment of laboratory skills which is worth 20% of the asessment.

The Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at King's College has a very wide range of research interests and expertise. MSc projects will normally be available in a fairly wide range of areas commensurate with the research interests of pharmacologists at King's.

Teaching staff: Led by Dr Lawrence Moon
Module code: 7BBMM013
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 30 MCATs
Semester:  Semester 2 (spring) 
Assessment:  coursework;  oral examination/s; 
80% written project proposal (3,500 words) and 20% oral presentation.

During this course students work in teams of 3-5 students to design a research project. Using the materials and resources gathered by the team, each student writes his/her own application to an imaginary funding body for financial support to pursue the research. The funding application produced forms the basis of the assessment of the unit.

Teaching staff: All pharmacology staff
Module code: 7BBMM011
Credit level: 7
Credit value: 30 MCATs
Semester:  Semester 1 (autumn) 
Assessment:  written examination/s 
Examination in mid January

This course unit is organised in two modules.

Firstly, a comprehensive, introductory Systems module which is designed to familiarise students with a broad-based knowledge of the effects of drugs on different body systems, their mechanisms of action, clinical actions and side effects.

Secondly, a more advanced, but complementary Cellular Pharmacology module familiarises students with current concepts of the cellular basis of drug action. For the Cellular part of the course students may choose to attend lectures on the molecular basis of drug action or alternatively they may choose a lecture course that focuses on the cellular basis of drug dependence.