BB551: Toxicology
Study Board Pharmacy
Teaching language: Danish or English depending on the teacher
EKA: N560029112, N560029102
Assessment: Second examiner, Second examiner: External
Grading: Pass/Fail, 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Spring
Level: Bachelor
STADS ID (UVA): N560029101
ECTS value: 10
Date of Approval: 06-10-2020
Duration: 1 semester
Version: Archive
Entry requirements
Pharmacy students who have passed BB544: Toxicology A and BB524; Toxicology B, can´t enroll in this course.
Students who have passed BB544: Toxicology A and/or BB524; Toxicology B as an elective course, can´t take this course as an elective course.
Students who have passed BB544: Toxicology A and/or BB524; Toxicology B as an elective course, can´t take this course as an elective course.
Academic preconditions
tudents taking the course are expected to:
- Have knowledge of fundamental chemistry, molecular biology, and biochemistry
- Be able to use basic laboratory equipment and perform simple calculations involving concentration and dilution
Common academic competences: This course requires active student participation and awareness of dialogue-based teaching. Furthermore, the student is expected to:
- Be able to work in a team
- Have experience doing literature research, oral presentation and basic laboratory skills
- Have knowledge of laboratory safety
Course introduction
The aim of the course is to introduce fundamental toxicological terms, and their associated biochemical and physiological relations. Planning and execution of toxicological experiments is the focus of the laboratory course at the end of the semester.
These fundamentals are important for understanding the mechanisms of adverse drug reactions and toxicological interactions categorised as food-drug, drug-drug or drug-environment. This knowledge is necessary for pharmacists working at pharmacies, but also for pharmacists, biomedical students and biologists looking to work within the pharmaceutical industry or environmental management.
In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:
- Give the competence to perform and analyse basic experiments within the field of toxicology
- Give the competence to be part of a scientific research group with its’ own goals and plans.
- Give skills in comprehension of primary literature
- Give knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms of toxicity in humans
- Give knowledge about the use of model organisms for research in human toxicity, including the use of vertebrates as test animals and the challenges presented within this research.
For pharmacists and biologists, this course provides the scientific background needed to study Mechanistic Toxicology (FA807) and Molecular Toxicology (BB802), as well as general preparation for thesis work within the field of toxicology/ecotoxicology.
Expected learning outcome
The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:
- Analyse toxicokinetic data
- Describe the central organs and mechanisms involved in metabolism of xenobiotics, including environmental pollutants and pharmaceuticals in humans
- Present and communicate scientific research in a reasonable and manageable way
- Describe the effects of xenobiotics on endocrine systems
- Explain the molecular mechanisms behind the toxicity of certain groups of chemicals
- Perform and report on quantitative, biochemical laboratory experiments
Content
The following main topics are contained in the course:
- Toxicology/ecotoxicology
- Biology/biochemistry
- Physiology
The overarching themes of the course are:
- Cellular processes involved in toxic effects
- Organ specific toxic effects
- Toxicity mediated through nuclear receptors
- The effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in humans and other vertebrates
- The molecular mechanisms of metal- and nano particle toxicity, as well as natural toxins found in mushrooms and plants.
- Sources of interspecies differences in toxicological response
- The effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
Literature
Pharmaceutical Toxicology by Mulder og Dencker
See itslearning for syllabus lists and additional literature references.
Examination regulations
Prerequisites for participating in the exam a)
Timing
Spring
Tests
Participation in laboratory exercises
EKA
N560029112
Assessment
Second examiner
Grading
Pass/Fail
Identification
Full name and SDU username
Language
Normally, the same as teaching language
Examination aids
To be announced during the course.
ECTS value
0
Additional information
Active participation in all laboratory exercises, including handing in assignments such as preparation for exercises and oral presentation of results from laboratory exercises.
The prerequisite examination is a prerequisite for participation in exam element a)
Exam element a)
Timing
June
Prerequisites
| Type | Prerequisite name | Prerequisite course |
|---|---|---|
| Examination part | Prerequisites for participating in the exam a) | N560029101, BB551: Toxicology |
Tests
Written exam
EKA
N560029102
Assessment
Second examiner: External
Grading
7-point grading scale
Identification
Student Identification Card - Name
Language
Normally, the same as teaching language
Duration
4 hours
Examination aids
Not allowed. A closer description of the exam rules will be posted in itslearning.
ECTS value
10
Additional information
The examination form for re-examination may be different from the exam form at the regular exam.
Indicative number of lessons
Teaching Method
The teaching method is based on three phase model.
- Intro phase: 32 hours
- Skills training phase: 48 hours, hereof tutorials: 12 hours and laboratory exercises: 36 hours
The lectures will be based upon the curriculum in the book, as well as pimary+secondary literature available through Blackboard. Every subject is presented with a focus on what can be found in the curriculum, as well as the background for this information. For example, in the lecture about hepatotoxins, the anatomy and physiology of the liver is presented as background knowledge. A basic understanding of organ systems is necessary to study the toxic effects of model compounds on the human body. Teaching will consist of introductory lectures on the academic subjects of the course, followed by seminars of group work and dialogue-based teaching, allowing for a deeper understanding of the subjects. The study phase therefore consists of the following activities:
- Answering of weekly assignments in order to discuss these in the exercise sections.
- Preparations for the laboratory work
- Self study of various parts of the course material.
- Reflection upon the intro and training sections.
This course follows the principles of teaching for active learning, so lectures will therefore contain certain interactive elements e.g. group work, discussions, presentations and digital tools.
For the laboratory course, students are asked to perform risk assessment of their experiments. The students must prepare for every experiment, before undertaking it in the laboratory. This is part of the prerequisite to take the exam, and time has been dedicated to this in the course schedule.
The final scheduled block of laboratory work is dedicated to oral presentation of results from the work in the lab, which will be closely related to the theory presented during the course.
Teacher responsible
Additional teachers
| Name | Department | City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henrik Holbech | hol@biology.sdu.dk | Biologisk Institut | |
| Johannes Lørup Buch | jbuch@biology.sdu.dk | Biologisk Institut |