Graduate Curriculum

• MEDC 501.   Advanced Medicinal Chemistry I .  Advanced study of organic medicinal agents with emphasis on names, synthesis, chemical properties, and pharmacological properties.  Readings in the current literature required.  Prerequisite:  Consent of the department (3). 
   

• MEDC 502.  Advanced Medicinal Chemistry II. Continuation of Medicinal Chemistry 501.  Readings in the current literature required. Prerequisite: MEDC 501. (3) 
   

• MEDC 503.  Medicinal Chemistry Research Methodology.   Lecture and hands-on laboratory in various methods used in medicinal chemistry research. (3) 
   

• MEDC 507.  Organic Chemistry of Drug Synthesis.  Discussion of the synthetic approaches to many of the therapeutic classes of drugs studied in medicinal chemistry courses with an accent on the relationship of chemical structure to improved efficacy.  Prerequisite:  MEDC501 or equivalent and consent of department.
   

• MEDC 541, MEDC 542.   Problems in Medicinal Chemistry. Investigation of individual problems. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. (1-4,1-4)
   

• MEDC 543, MEDC 544.   Seminar on Current Medicinal Chemistry Topics. A seminar consisting of presentations by faculty, graduate students, B.S. Pharmaceutical Science/Medicinal Chemistry track students and invited speakers. (1, 1). 
   

• MEDC 610.  Selected Topics in Medicinal Chemistry. Recent advances emphasizing mechanisms of drug action and other new concepts.  (May be repeated for credit. (3).
   

• MEDC 630.   Pharmaceutical Protein Design and Development. This course focuses on the chemical and structural characteristics of protein pharmaceuticals which make them different from conventional pharmaceutical products. (3)
   

• MEDC 643, MEDC 644.   Seminar on Current Pharmaceutical Topics. (1, 1). (Z grade)
   

• MEDC 697.   Thesis. (1-12)
   

• MEDC 797.    Dissertation. (1-18)
   

Drug Action and Design (DAD) Courses

• MEDC 611.  Drug Action and Design I. Introduction to Computer-Aided Ligand Design.  Modern molecular modeling methods and techniques as they pertain to molecular design and the simulation of molecular properties and interactions.  Examples include modeling of small molecules at the level of mechanics calculations up to ab initio calculations; homology modeling of proteins and related validation methods; docking interactions of ligands and receptors.  (3)
   

• MEDC 612.   Drug Action and Design II. Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships in Drug Design. Introduction to simple mathematical models of drug action (2D-QSAR) and application of the concepts to the use of computer-aided drug design to develop 3D pharmacophore models based on quantitative structure-activity relationships (3D-QSAR)  (3)
   

• MEDC 613.   Drug Action and Design III. Drugs Affecting the Central and Peripheral Nervous System. Discussion and application of the design, synthesis, and biological activities of drugs affecting both the central and peripheral nervous system. Prerequisite: 501 or equivalent. (3)
   

• MEDC 614.   Drug Action and Design IV. Chemotherapy of Cancer and Infectious Diseases. Overview of anticancer, antimicrobial and antiviral chemotherapy as related to drug design, chemical synthesis, structural classes, mechanisms of pharmacological action, toxicities, resistance mechanisms and clinical usefulness (3).
   

• MEDC 609.  Drug Action and Design V.  Heterocyclic Compounds.  Methods of synthesis of medicinally important compounds which contain a heterocyclic ring system.  (3).
   

• MEDC 618.  Drug Action and Design VI.  Bioorganic Chemistry.  The study of chemical interactions and catalytic strategies fundamental to drug design and development, using the principles of organic chemistry as the intellectual framework for addressing biological problems at the molecular level. (3)
   

• MEDC 620.   Drug Action and Design VII.  Combinatorial Chemistry:  Theory and Practice. A combined lecture and laboratory experience in the field of high-throughput synthesis including background, theory, and specific solid-supported or solution-phase chemistries as applied to the generation of drug libraries for drug discovery and lead optimization.. (3)

Medicinal Chemistry, Polymer & Materials Science, and Technology Development Certificate Degree Program

(Limited to IGERT Fellows in Medicinal Chemistry)

• MEDC 621.  Theory of Technology Development.  Examination of the theory, practice, implications, and history of technological innovation. (3)
   

• MEDC 622   Early Stages of Technology Development. Examination of the processes for managing the early stages of innovation through balancing marketing, manufacturing, research, financials, intellectual property and regulatory affairs (3)
   

• MEDC 623   Fostering Creative Environments. How to develop technologically creative ideas, understand the factors that influence creativity, develop methods for promoting creativity in others and forming a creative environment that attracts creative people. (3)
   

• MEDC 625   Applied Problems in Medicinal Chemistry, Polymer & Materials Science, and Technology Development  A capstone course challenging the students in creative problem solving focusing on the student’s research innovation and technological development of their primary research projects that are integrated with the USM School of Polymers & High Performance Materials. (3)