Drug Toxicology and Safety Pharmacology

This full-time Master's programme provides a comprehensive overview of drug safety practices within the drug development process.

It addresses key aspects of preclinical drug evaluation through the study of:

• Drug discovery and development
• Safety pharmacology
• Mechanisms of drug-induced toxicities
• Regulatory affairs
• Bioanalytical sciences

It will give you state-of-the-art training in preclinical toxicology, with an emphasis on the molecular in vitro and in vivo aspects of toxicology and safety pharmacology assessments.

As part of the programme you will undertake an original research project that will be the basis of your dissertation.

Delivered at the Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, an internationally renowned research institution, the programme gives you the skills you need for a career in the pharmaceutical industry or regulatory bodies, along with the foundations for PhD study.

Drug toxicology and safety pharmacology lies at the heart of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, and demand for highly skilled practitioners in this field is extremely high.

The programme has a central core of modules in the first Semester which are designed to train students in widely used laboratory techniques, research methodology, and in critical analysis and thinking.

The 20-credit Practical Skills in Research module is designed around common laboratory techniques and skills including ELISA, flow cytometry, Western Blot, statistical analysis etc. You will have a series of workshops to learn these techniques with a lab session where you carry out the procedure.

In the 20-credit Critical Appraisal module, you are assigned a topic under the supervision of one of our academics and are asked to write a 5000-word critical review. In this module, students will receive a wide range of training and advice on scientific writing, compiling scientific data, data analysis, scientific presentation etc.

The remaining 20-credit first semester module entitled Toxicology & Safety Pharmacology provides students with the core academic knowledge required in this field. During the first semester, students gain knowledge of the breadth of cutting edge research at ICT and either choose or suggest a research project plan.

In Semester 2, students will study 20-credit Preclinical Models for Drug Evaluation module designed around protocols and techniques used in the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of drug potency and 20-credit Molecular Mechanisms of Toxicity module designed around the recent understanding mechanism that leads to toxicity in drug molecules.

The remaining 20-credit module can be chosen from a list of topics which reflect your career aspirations.

In Semester 3 (60 credits each), students will join research laboratories within the ICT, to undertake their 60-credit Research Project module. During this time, students are trained in specialist laboratory techniques and conduct their chosen research.

All module information is for 2019 entry, and is subject to change.

To be admitted to the programme, applicants must have an undergraduate Honours qualification (minimum 2: 2) or equivalent in a scientific discipline, usually within chemistry, biology, pharmacy, biomedicine, or related fields. Candidates who do not meet these entry criteria but who can show relevant experience may also be considered.

For North American students a GPA of normally 2.0 and above (on a scale of 4.0), or an equivalent, is required.

Fees for 2019 entry listed below.

Home/EU: £8,160 per year

International: £18,940 per year