Medicine, a drug is a compound used for the handling or deterrence of disease. This is a medium of curing a person from his/her pain. Drug has always been a concept to discuss on. But to change this image edX is coming up with a new online course “Medicinal Chemistry: The Molecular Basis of Drug Discovery” in association with University of Davidson.

This course is all about bringing the conceptual idea of drug to the market and how its’ chemical structure relates to its biological function. Students will get an opportunity to learn about the introduction of drug approval process in the beginning of the course. This foreword unites the social, economic and ethical aspects of drug innovation. The course includes the topics like how diseases are selected for treatment, the role of animal testing and the costs of various discovery phases.

After this introductory part the course further moves to the scientific side of drug discovery. This phase includes the scientific topics such as how drugs interact with biological molecules, drug absorption and elimination, and the discovery of weakly active molecules and their optimization into viable drugs.

Duration of Course

The session will start from 10th March 2014 for the duration of 7 weeks. The course will demand 6-8 hours/week for study.

Eligibility

Applicants must have the ability to recognize organic chemistry functional groups and read line-angle chemical structures. They must also have the deep knowledge of cell. Working with mathematical expressions containing exponents and logarithms must be their comfort zone. 

Certificate of Accomplishment

Online learners will be given a verified certificate of achievement after the completion of course.

About the Instructor

Erland Stevens

He has acquired his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1997 in the field of nitrogen heterocycles. Further he has earned his postdoctoral degree at The Scripps Research Institute with K. Barry Sharpless. He often teaches medicinal chemistry to junior and senior undergraduates.

For Detail information visit the official website of edX.