TOPICS

- The human body

- Principles of drug design and action

- Infectious diseases and therapeutics

- Neuromedicine and therapeutics

- Cancer and therapeutics

Medicinal chemistry has a sprawling 4000-year history and encompasses anatomy to zoology with a heavy contribution from organic chemistry. Few fields of science touch the human condition more directly. 

Most science courses are taught by first enunciating a principle and then providing illustrative examples.  We delve directly into diseases, therapeutics, and pharmacological modes of action, including case-oriented discussions, from which general principles may be revealed.  This survey course builds competency in both the “med” and the “chem” part of MedChem.  While rich in chemistry, the course focuses on molecular features, with complete exclusion of organic synthesis.

Perspective is included on the origin of therapeutic agents and the history and social ramifications of disease. Representative sociomedical issues include the African American smoking paradox, neglected (tropical) diseases of poverty, malaria and the Atlantic slave trade, and drug addiction.

The course is as rich as a medical school class – touching on >35 medical conditions – while retaining the exactness of the molecular world. Students in chemistry, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, or the broader life sciences may see this as a valuable capstone course or an entrée to medically related fields.