Faculty of Science

Objectives

The objective of the course is to present to students a framework for research into antiparasitic drugs. The course will teach students how to successfully use data evolving from the knowledge of the genome and postgenomics, for drug discovery and development.

Contents

How to discover novel targets for pharmacological intervention: Entering the post-genomic era of parasitic research, Characterisation and sequencing of parasite genome, Overview of bioinformatics and applications in drug discovery, DNA chips: applications in pharmacology

Compound acquisition and rational for drug development: Combinatorial chemistry: a new tool for the search of biologically active molecules; Target discovery and validation; Targets for anti-parasitic drug development derived from basic research; Mathematical modelling of metabolic pathways and its use in the identification of the suitable drug target

Methods for drug screening and evaluation of pharmacological activity: In vitro and in vivo models for the identification and evaluation of drugs; Screening methodologies for chemotherapeutic targets. High-throughput screening as an essential complement to the genomic approach; advanced technology to assist high-throughput screening.