Course Details

Pharmacology

MF0254

Course
Pharmacology
Code
MF0254
Academic Year
2026/2027
Curriculum Year
2025/2026
Degree Programme
BIOLOGY
Curriculum
A16 - Biomedico e Biomolecolare
Course coordinator
Credits
6
Lecture Hours
48
Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)
BIO/14 - Pharmacology
Course Type
Single-subject learning activity
Course Delivery
OBB - Obbligatoria
Year
2
Teaching period
Primo Semestre
Campus
ALESSANDRIA
Teaching language
Italian
Course Contents

Basic and clinical pharmacology

Reference Texts


FARMACOLOGIA GENERALE E MOLECOLARE Fumagalli & Clementi (Ed EDRA)

LE BASI DELLA FARMACOLOGIA Karen L Whalen (Ed Zanichelli)

FARMACOLOGIA GENERALE E CLINICA Katzung & Trevor’s (Ed Piccin)

Learning Outcomes

The course is worth 5 credits with 48 hours of classroom teaching (DE). The aim of the course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to participate in

and critically analyze drug development projects, or work in research laboratories or healthcare analysis laboratories.

Prerequisites

To achieve the expected learning outcomes, the student must have a solid grounding in molecular biology, anatomy, physiology, immunology, and general pathology.

Teaching Methods

All lessons will be held in the classroom; there will be no practical workshops, and active participation from students is encouraged where their knowledge allows.


Lesson PDFs will be made available on the DIR platform.

Additional Information

Students with disabilities or with Specific Learning Disorders (DSA) or with Special Educational Needs (BES) can request specific services and tools dedicated to them by consulting the dedicated page on the University website: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-conditione-di-fragilli-disabilità-dsa-bes. Students with disabilities, DSA, BES, once they have contacted the University Staff, can contact the teacher in charge of the course in relation to the declination of the exam methods, regarding the teaching aspects.

Assessment Methods
Assessment is an oral exam. Questions will cover the entire program taught in class; specifically, there will be one question on general pharmacology and two questions on distinct classes of drugs, for which the student must be able to describe the pharmacokinetics, mechanism of action, and side effects. To pass the exam, the student must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of at least the fundamental concepts. A higher grade will be awarded the more the student employs appropriate scientific terminology and provides detailed explanations of the topics. Studying one of the recommended texts, supported by the lecture PDFs uploaded to DIR, will bring the student to the required level of knowledge.
Detailed Syllabus

General Pharmacology: Drug development: preclinical and clinical phases; Pharmacodynamics: receptors and signal transduction; the concept of agonist and antagonist, dose-response curve; Pharmacokinetics: drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Basic concepts of gender pharmacology: gender differences in pharmacokinetics and in the characteristics of certain drug classes. Biotechnological drugs: therapeutic proteins, monoclonal antibodies, basic concepts of cell and gene therapy.

Clinical Pharmacology: - Diabetes drugs: insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs - Anti-dyslipidemic drugs - Cardiovascular drugs: heart failure drugs, antihypertensives, antithrombotic drugs, and anticoagulants - Inflammatory drugs: NSAIDs and glucocorticoids - Respiratory drugs - Nervous system drugs: synapses and neurotransmitters; antidepressant drugs; Drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease; antipsychotic drugs; sedative-hypnotic drugs; pain therapy: opioids; substances of abuse and mechanisms of addiction. - Anticancer drugs. Where relevant, attention will be paid to gender-specific pharmacology.

Expected Learning Outcomes

The Dublin descriptors will be the terms of assessment: D1 - KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: The student will know and understand the basic concepts of general pharmacology and the pharmacotoxicological characteristics of various drug classes. D2 - ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: Students will acquire the ability to use the theoretical knowledge imparted during lectures to reason critically, demonstrating an ability to draw connections between different topics and apply the knowledge gained to the context of drug development and use.. D3 - JUDGMENT ABILITY: The student will acquire the ability to critically examine the theoretical concepts acquired and to be able to independently argue the problems arising from their practical application. D4-COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS: Students will acquire the ability to communicate their acquired knowledge using specific and appropriate vocabulary in order to communicate professionally and competently in both academic and professional settings. D5-LEARNING SKILLS: Students will acquire learning skills useful for continuous and ongoing updating on pharmacology research

Last update:21-10-2026 00:13:19