Drug Discovery Based on Natural Products (7.5 cr)
For thousands of years, man has explored the earth to find new tools for health care. In this course, you will gain basic knowledge of how we can continue to use nature's resources and translate them into pharmaceutical progress and new treatments.
Despite numerous technological advances, nature remains our main source of new drugs. Today, a majority of all pharmaceuticals originate in substances from the plant and animal kingdoms. Nevertheless, with ongoing climate changes, the clock is ticking fast: numerous species both in sea and on land are close to extinction. With them, countless potential drugs are at risk never being discovered. Now the need for new competencies in the field is urgent.
At our course Drug Discovery Based on Natural Products, we highlight the perhaps oldest discipline of healthcare from a modern perspective. Starting in ethnopharmacology and ecology, you approach the bioactive molecules. Along the way, you will study the importance of bioassays and high throughput screening in the discovery of new drug molecules. In one part of the course, you write a scientific paper in English – something many students in hindsight consider valuable training for future degree projects.
Welcome to a course that the participants in spring 2023 praised as "very interesting" and "highly educational" with "perfect interaction between teachers and students". We hope you will agree.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
- The course is given in Autumn and Spring term
- The course is given full time, online and in English
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CONTACT
Christina Wedén, Course leader
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences
Christina.Weden@uu.se