Gaining familiarity on where and how drugs act on tissues is an important experimental and clinical skill used in your future professional and personal lives. This task requires you to complete an online simulated set of activities and submit your responses / answers which are derived from this task in the electronic answer booklet provided in Moodle. The simulation is a virtual pharmacology experiment which will enable you to perform drug additions and view the responses. This will help to develop a basic understanding of the laboratory and analysis linked to drug design and testing and drug/organism interactions. As noted in lectures, drug dosing experiments enable pharmacologists to investigate the physiology and pharmacology of in vitro tissue preparations. The theory behind the simulated experiments is discussed further in the experimental instruction manual which is available on the unit Moodle site under the “essential information” tab, as are the step-by-step instructions for using this online module.

In order to complete this activity, you are required to follow the instructions outlined in the instruction manual and collect experimental data generated from the simulated tissues. Once you have collected your data, you are required to prepare responses, observations, calculations and answer a series of questions which relate to the online module you just completed. The completion of this activity will enable you to further understand concepts relating to agonists, antagonists, EC50s, cumulative concentration responses and will enable you to get an introductory understanding of how pharmacological experiments are conducted. This task will help those students prepare for the laboratory setting and may (in conceptual form) also assist in completion of Assessment item 3.

This task requires the submission of observations, data, graphs and responses generated as a result of completing the simulated experiments. The data tables and graphs you submit will be assessed for your ability to interpret and present the generated data in a professional manner. The written responses you submit each contain weighted marks as outlined in the instruction manual and will be marked either correct or incorrect based upon your understanding of key concepts and the interpretation of the results you develop. Given the nature of the task referencing is unnecessary however the responses still need to be in your own words.

This task is for the CG93, CL10, CM17 and CU18 course learning outcomes students only - with a submission linked to the Assessment item 3 task. You will be provided with a laboratory workbook on the Moodle site. This workbook will contain all the tasks (experiments, skills and data analysis) that need to be completed during the residential school block. Group experimental activities during the residential school will foster team work and provide hands-on experience of the pharmacological techniques used in testing and research laboratories. Completion of the tasks will evidence student engagement and understanding of the principles behind the pharmacological tests. Laboratory staff or demonstrators will assess your individual experimental capability during residential school to ensure your understanding of the learning outcomes.  There is a linked submission task for this residential school in lieu of the mythical drug review in Assessment item 3.  Please check the residential school timetable, the Moodle site and Term Specific Information in the Unit Profile for the dates.

Successful completion of the laboratory activities/workbook at the residential school and submission of the linked report in Assessment item 3.

This assessment item has two distinct options and is modularised depending on the courses/programs you are studying.  Option 1 - Mythical drug review is for the CG95/CB68/CB66 students to complete.  Option 2 - Data analysis report from practical tasks is for the CG93/CL10/CM17/CU18 students to complete and is linked to the residential school attendance component (pharmacological laboratory experiments) from Assessment item 2.

Option 1 - Mythical drug review (CG95/CB68/CB66)

This task requires you to establish the potential mechanism of action and outline a series of experiments you could use to verify the pharmacological actions of an imaginary drug. Communication, problem solving and applying knowledge to a variety of scenarios will be part of your everyday future in health care. This fictitious drug task will require you to apply your understanding of pharmacological principles to postulate a mythical drug's cellular target(s), mechanism of action and physiological effects. In a real world context, pharmacologists are required to test new chemical compounds and work to identify the physiological effects they have within the body (for example, does a new compound increase heart rate?). Once the physiological effects for new compounds have been identified, pharmacologists must then work to identify the mechanism through which the observed effects are mediated (for example, what receptors are activated or blocked, what proteins undergo phosphorylation, what genes are turned off and on). You should approach this from the perspective that the mythical drug will achieve better clinical outcomes or effects compared to a known existing drug or compound. This could be related to actual positive effects or decreased side effects or a combination of both.

In this assessment item you are given the observations/effects for three imaginary drugs. You are to choose one of the three options to report on. Once you have made your choice you are to describe how the drug works and a series of experiments you could use to test the mechanism/s through which the imaginary drug is mediating its effects.

Imaginary drugs you can choose from -

• Neurotrip - a new medication which inhibits brain inflammation, improves depressive symptoms and promotes neuroplasticity
• Microbebusta - revolutionary new broad spectrum compound which shows antifungal and antibacterial effects
• Painbegone - revolutionary anaesthetic for minor surgical procedures

As a guide, you may like to consider how experimental techniques we have covered in simulation could be used, clinical trials and any other methods you have identified during your literature search to determine the mechanism of action for your imaginary drug. It would be advantageous to position your proposed experiments with a discussion on existing compounds that may have similar properties. The use of peer-review journal articles as information sources is expected (a minimum of 10 primary references are required for this assessment item), whilst the use of internet / pharmaceutical company websites is discouraged. Word limit for this assessment item is 2500 words. By completing this task it is hoped you will gain a greater understanding of receptor targets and how drugs work, demonstrate basic knowledge of preclinical tissue bath testing and clinical trials, and demonstrate creative written expression and advanced literature review and integration.

Option 2 - Data analysis report from practical tasks (pharmacology laboratory experiments) (CG93/CL10/CM17/CU18)

This item is linked to Assessment item 2 - residential school.  During the residential school you will have completed practical tasks which are used to test and compare various pharmaceutical agents demonstrating competency in the pharmacological testing laboratory.  You will complete a report based on one of the experiments chosen by the Unit Coordinator.  This will compliment the practical exercises completed during the residential school.  This report will involve a review and analysis of the experimental technique, drugs tested and data analysis of the responses recorded.  More details will be provided during residential school and on Moodle.

A detailed marking excel criteria sheet/rubric can be found on the unit Moodle page, however assessment will be based on the knowledge of theory, rationalization and justification of your arguments/ideas/proposed experiments, quality and quantity of information sources used, presentation of references, presentation and formatting the content (including images, figures, or tables), spelling and grammar.

Marking criteria mythical drug review:

Fundamental content - 15 marks

Positioning of your arguments - 15 marks

Writing style/overall presentation - 10 marks

Referencing - 10 marks

Total = 50 marks

Marking criteria data analysis report from the practical tasks:

Introduction - 10 marks

Analysis of the data collected (results/discussion) - 30 marks

Writing style/overall presentation - 5 marks

Referencing - 5 marks

Total = 50 marks