Pharmacogenomics

Catalog description

Driven by advances in genomics technology and the resultant increased capacity to understand an individual’s genetic make-up, the emerging field of pharmacogenomics is increasingly informing clinical therapeutics and future drug design. This course is designed to provide students with an improved understanding of the complexities in identifying clinically significant genetic variation to predict the right choice and dose of medications for an individualized approach to medicine. Toward this end, the course will examine genetic principles and genomic technologies facilitating pharmacogenetic advances. Students will advance their knowledge of specific genetic principles inherent to non-disease states, disease states, ethnicity, and other factors known to impact drug response and individual patient outcomes. As the course advances, students will be guided to apply this knowledge to pharmacy practice through readings from the current literature, design of practice plans, and other relevant activities that will lead to an advanced understanding of how genetic variation influences pharmacologic principles, e.g. dose-response relationships and metabolism, and diseases including cardiovascular, CNS, hematologic, and immune systems as well as cancer. Consideration of the limitations of pharmacogenomics and ethical issues will also provide a complete perspective of the current and future impact of this important field. Prerequisites: (PHAR 434 or 6330 ).