Course Catalog

The experiences will vary depending on the specific faculty member's project but may include: conducting clinical or basic science research, performing an extensive review of the literature and preparing a summary report/manuscript, analyzing data that has previously been collected. Students may work on a single project or be exposed to several types of projects during the course. For specific details of the course, students should contact individual faculty.

Terms: Fall/Winter

This course introduces concepts required to understand drugs as organic chemicals whose biological activities derive from their chemical structures and physicochemical properties. The course continues with a survey of different analytical methods used to assay pharmaceuticals (including hands-on laboratory exercises) and concludes with a discussion of basic concepts of drug design, structure activity relationships and drug metabolism.

Prerequisites: First Year PharmD Students

Terms: Fall

This course provides a high-level overview on the structure, function and chemistry of biological macromolecules including proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates. Topics include: molecular forces, structure, and dynamics: understanding macromolecular folding, energetics of macromolecular interactions (kinetics and thermodynamics), ligand binding and mechanistic enzymology. Using specific examples from current literature, each topic stresses how chemists have used molecular level tools and probes to help understand the specific systems under study. The overarching theme is that biological structure and function are interconnected.

Terms: Fall

This course is a continuation of Chemical Biology 501. The basic concepts obtained in Chemical Biology 501 will be applied to and demonstrated in three broad areas of interest to both chemists and biologists. The first topic discusses protein homeostasis (both biosynthesis and degradation). The second topic focuses on signal transduction, emphasizing general concepts (at the molecular level) and how small molecules have been used to probe and modulate signal transduction pathways. The final topic covers chemical biology tools and approaches (selections, screens, small molecule libraries, genomics, proteomics, directed evolution and catalytic antibodies).

Prerequisites: Chemical Biology 501

Terms: Winter

U-M Department of Pharmacology, Life Sciences Institute, and Michigan Drug Discovery have developed a new course/program to provide relevant experience to trainees who are potentially interested in pursuing careers in pharma. Students will participate in "New Target Strategy Teams," with each team researching and presenting their evaluation of a potential novel drug discovery project of interest to Michigan Drug Discovery. These teams will be organized and run very similarly to how these same kinds of teams operate in "big pharma," and trainees will be making an important contribution to real-world decisions regarding which potential projects Michigan Drug Discovery and its collaborators will invest resources into.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor

Terms: Fall

U-M Department of Pharmacology, Life Sciences Institute, and Michigan Drug Discovery have developed a new course/program to provide relevant experience to trainees who are potentially interested in pursuing careers in pharma. Students will participate in "New Target Strategy Teams," with each team researching and presenting their evaluation of a potential novel drug discovery project of interest to Michigan Drug Discovery. These teams will be organized and run very similarly to how these same kinds of teams operate in "big pharma," and trainees will be making an important contribution to real-world decisions regarding which potential projects Michigan Drug Discovery and its collaborators will invest resources into.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor

Terms: Fall

This course is a continuation of MC500 and covers concepts of drug-receptor interactions, signal transduction and pharmacogenomics, drug classes that affect the autonomic nervous system and histaminergic system and drug classes used in GI disorders, pain and inflammation, coagulation, hyperlipidemia and vitamins. Basic concepts discussed include pathophysiology of related disorders, mechanisms of action, SAR, DDIs, adverse effects and clinical use.

Prerequisites: MedChem 500

Terms: Winter

This course focuses on therapeutic drug monitoring, understanding of common lab tests and learning about a number of laboratory techniques commonly used in drug analysis with an emphasis on data interpretation and pharmaceutical calculation.

Prerequisites: MedChem 500; minimum grade requirement: C-

Terms: Winter

This course will cover the chemical and catalytic mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed reactions, with an emphasis on organic and organometallic cofactors in biology and mechanisms of group transfer reactions, redox reactions, rearrangements, decarboxylations, carboxylations, and methylation.

Prerequisites: Chem 525, Biolchem 660, Biolchem 515, or equivalent

Terms: Fall

This course explores the roles of organic and organometallic cofactors in biology. Topics covered are cofactor assembly, cofactors as sensors, and cofactors in enzyme chemistry, with an emphasis on modulation of cofactor reactivity by complexation with the protein.

Prerequisites: Biochemistry 452 or Chemistry 452, or equivalent, or permission of instructor

Terms: Fall

This course covers topics in chemical biology as they are applied to the process of drug discovery, including the identification and validation of new targets and the development of novel therapeutic agents. The course will utilize a combination of lecture and primary literature discussion, as well as opportunities for students to gain skills in science communication and the preparation of research proposals.

Terms: Fall

This course covers topics in chemical biology as they are applied to the process of drug discovery, including the identification and validation of new targets and the development of novel therapeutic agents. The course will utilize a combination of lecture and primary literature discussion, as well as opportunities for students to gain skills in science communication and the preparation of research proposals.

Terms: Fall

Sources of leads. Lead selection from HTS and virtual screening. General design principles. Drug design with defined target structure. Drug design without defined target structure. ADMET Optimization. Case Histories.

Prerequisites: MedChem 532 or Permission of Instructor

Terms: Winter

Sources of leads. Lead selection from HTS and virtual screening. General design principles. Drug design with defined target structure. Drug design without defined target structure. ADMET Optimization. Case Histories.

Prerequisites: MedChem 532 or Permission of Instructor

Terms: Winter

Ethics & Research

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor

Terms: Fall/Winter

Ethics & Research

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor

Terms: Fall/Winter

The experiences will vary depending on the specific faculty member's project but may include: conducting clinical or basic science research, performing an extensive review of the literature and preparing a summary report/manuscript, analyzing data that has previously been collected. Students may work on a single project or be exposed to several types of projects during the course. For specific details of the course, students should contact individual faculty.

Prerequisites: PharmD students. Permission of instructor.

Terms: Fall, Winter, SprSum

Original investigation of a laboratory or library problem to be selected after consultation with the instructor. A paper is required.

Prerequisites: Permission of instructor

Terms: Fall/Winter

This course introduces fundamental concepts and methods of chemoinformatics, structural biology, and machine learning. Discussion includes breakthroughs in scientific foundation model application, plus generalizability of drug discovery predictions. Emphasis is on understanding fundamental concepts in bioinformatics and practical application of data science tools and methods to problems in medicinal chemistry.

Prerequisites: Instructor Consent Required, advisory prerequisite BIOINF 575

Terms: Winter

This course is a continuation of MC510 and starts by covering classes of drugs used in various cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension, including diuretics, arrhythmias, angina and congestive heart failure. The course concludes by covering drugs classes acting on the central nervous system. Basic concepts discussed include pathophysiology of related disorders, mechanisms of action, SAR, DDIs, adverse effects and clinical use.

Prerequisites: Completion of MedChem 510

Terms: Fall