STUDY GUIDE MASTER S DEGREE PROGRAMME IN DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT

Transcription

1 STUDY GUIDE MASTER S DEGREE PROGRAMME IN DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT

2 Updated August 2017 Table of Contents 1 Faculty of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine and decision making The Faculty office The academic neighbourhood Registration with the university Course registration Examinations Credit and grading system Certificates and study transcripts Computers, printers and copying machines Libraries Career Services and supervision Student activities Flexible study right: studies at the Åbo Akademi University Plagiarism FairUTU 13 2 Study programme Academic year Structure of the studies 16 This guidebook has been compiled for students that study at the University of Turku at the Master s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development. Its purpose is to give information about the University of Turku, the Faculty of Medicine and certain procedures, the study programme and the structure of the studies. Most of the content can also be found online 2

3 1 Faculty of Medicine 1.1 The Faculty of Medicine and decision making The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Turku has four separate departments and institutes: 1) the Institutes of Biomedicine, 2) Clinical Medicine and 3) Dentistry, and 4) the Department of Nursing Science. The faculty is led by a dean, currently professor Pentti Huovinen, MD, PhD. The decisions at the Faculty are made by the dean and the Faculty Council. The members of the Council, consisting of professors, teachers, researchers, other personnel and students, are elected for a period of three years. The Dean acts as the chairman of the Faculty Council. Vice deans are professors Veli-Matti Kähäri, MD, PhD, Seppo Soinila, MD, PhD and Pekka Hänninen, PhD. Professor Sari Mäkelä, MD, PhD, is the Head of the Institute of Biomedicine, and professor Markku Koulu, MD, PhD is the responsible professor of the Master s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development. He is also vice Head of the Institute of Biomedicine. The decision body for the Master s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development is the degree planning committee of the programme. The committee consists of professors, teachers, administrative personnel and student members. Faculty of Medicine offers five degrees: Licentiate in Medicine, Licentiate in Dentistry, Bachelor/Master of Health Sciences (Nursing Sciences) and Master Programmes in Drug Discovery and Development, and in Biomedical Imaging. The language of education is Finnish in all the other degrees except in Drug Discovery and Development and Biomedical Imaging in which teaching is organised in English The Faculty office The office of the Faculty of Medicine and Office for student services The office of the Faculty of Medicine and Student services is located in Medisiina building C7 floor. Visiting and mailing address is Kiinamyllynkatu 10, Turku. Visiting hours of the office are Monday-Friday at 12:00-15:00. Location on the campus map: T30, The person responsible for student affairs related to the Master s Programme in Drug Discovery and Develoment is the Head of Academic and Student Affairs Ms Henriikka Salminen. hensal(at)utu.fi Matters related to admission, study transcripts, study register, graduation, etc. are taken care by the study secretaries: Ms Raija Ahokas, raija.ahokas(at)utu.fi Ms Katja Kirstilä, katja.kirstila(at)utu.fi. The Student adviser Krista Lahtiluoma has her office also on C7 floor, C734. Her contact information: kremla(at)utu.fi. She is mainly responsible for BSc studies, but can also guide and help with MSc studies. 3

4 Coordinators office The coordinator of the Master s degree programme in Drug Discovery and Development is Ms Maritta Löytömäki, PhD. Her office is in Medisiina C6 floor, room C637. maritta.loytomaki@utu.fi(at)utu.fi or biomedicine(at)utu.fi. International office International office is responsible for student exchange and all mobility and network agreements. The international officer in the Faculty of Medicine is Ms Kaija Kangasjärvi. Telephone (02) , intmedi@utu.fi The international office is in the Turku School of Economics building (T57 on the map), Rehtorinpellonkatu 3, 1st floor. Mailing address is International Office, University of Turku, FI Turku. Visiting hours for students: Monday - Thursday The academic neighbourhood University of Turku is located in the oldest city in Finland, close to the medieval Cathedral and the old buildings where the first university in Finland was operating. The institutes of the Faculty of Medicine are found in the buildings near to the University Hospital (TYKS) and in the specialized research center, BioCity. Inspite of being a relatively small city, Turku has also another university, Åbo Akademi, in which the teaching language is Swedish. This is to provide university level teaching also in the other official language of Finland. The teaching for the Master s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development mainly takes place in the Medisiina and Pharmacity buildings (T30 and T49 on the map). The courses provided by the Åbo Akademi University Department of Biosciences are mostly offered in BioCity (T38 on the map). University main building is up on the small hill called Vesilinnanmäki; building T1 on the map. You can find a map over the campus on the following address: Registration with the university All students need to register with the University of Turku each academic year as an attending (present) or non-attending (absent) student. This section includes instructions and documents concerning general registration with the University of Turku. It is maintained by the unit of the Student and Admission Services. Opening hours and other contact information of the unit are available on the website of the unit. 4

5 Instructions for registration with the University of Turku for the next academic year are given annually in May All students that are currently registered with the University of Turku as attending or non-attending and whose study right is still valid will receive information by to utu.fi address. New undergraduate students will receive information from the faculty after being accepted to study at the University of Turku. If you miss the registration period, a re-registration fee of will be charged (decree of the Ministry of Education 1082/2009). Registration for the Academic Year All students need to register with the University of Turku each academic year. New academic year begins 1 August and ends 31 July. Registration period for the academic year begins 1 June 2017 and ends 31 August Registration for Master's degree for the first time Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the University of Turku are considered as undergraduate degrees. Student Union membership is compulsory for all undergraduate students who will register as attending students (Universities Act 558/2009, 46 ). Registration at the University is done annually and the registration is valid for the whole academic year. The new academic year begins on the 1 st of August. It is possible to register as an attending or non-attending. Registration as attending Registration as an attending student is done by paying the Student Union membership fee. The membership fee should be paid well before the beginning of the studies. The fee should be paid well before entering courses because of the delay at the data transfer from the bank to study register. Registration is valid when the appropriate documents have arrived and been approved. Only after that it is possible to receive a certificate of registration with the University of Turku. Registration as non-attending There have been the changes to rules for new Bachelor's and Master's Degree students to register as a non-attending student. It is possible to register as non-attending only for specific reasons. You must register as non-attending either by (newstudent@utu.fi) or visiting the Student and Admission Services in person or by returning the signed registration form and required documents that prove the legal grounds for your absence, by post. If you register by , please state your entire name, date of birth (or Finnish ID number, if you have one) and the subject to which you received the study place. After registration When your registration has been entered you will be sent a transcript of the study register showing, for example, your student number. Please notice that the semester begins on the 1 st of August 2017, which is the earliest possible starting date of your student discounts and benefits. 5

6 You can order a student card by using the electronic form. New student cards are printed in August, and you can order the card as soon as you have registered as attending and received your student number. You can activate your IT account after registration at with Finnish internet banking codes. The IT Services unit of the University of Turku will create a user identification to access to computer resources (for example the electronic study register Nettiopsu and ). If you do not yet have Finnish internet banking codes, you can visit at IT service helpdesks to get your account activated. For more information, see 1.9. Your student benefits are available after 1 st of August If you need a temporary certificate of registration before receiving your student card, please contact the Student and Admission Services or the office of your Faculty or the coordinator of the programme. Inform us of your address in Finland! You will receive more detailed information a few weeks after the registration. For this we will need your address in Finland, so remember to notify the Student and Admission Services! Please send to newstudent [at]utu.fi, or fill in the form given by the programme coordinator. After receiving your user account at the University you can change your contact information in Nettiopsu. 1.5 Course registration Course registration at the University of Turku In general the students in Drug Discovery and Development do not have to register to those courses, which are mandatory in their curriculum. But registration to elective courses might be required. In these cases registration is usually done in a Virtual Study Register system called Nettiopsu: More information on NettiOpsu and course registration via NettiOpsu can be found here: Sometimes registration is done by or some other means. Always check with the teacher/coordinator well in advance if registration is required and how it is done. Important: In the curriculum, there is one mandatory course offered by Åbo Akademi University, Computer Aided Drug Design. The Laboratory Basics course in bridging studies is also given by Åbo Akademi. Students of the Drug Discovery and Development require study rights to take these Courses at Åbo Akademi. Application of study rights is done through the electronic JOO application system. For more information see Examinations Examinations at the University of Turku Usually the first course exam is arranged at the end of the course. The course exams do not necessarily require registration. In addition to the course exams there should be 3 general exams arranged for each course every academic year. For general exams, the student needs to register for the exam in Nettiopsu at least one week before the exam. General exam dates : Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 6

7 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 Mon at 13:00-16:00 OJ and Pha1 (OJ means Osmo Järvi Auditorium and Pha1 PharmaCity Auditorium) Instructions about exam registration can be found at: Instructions and regulations concerning courses, examinations and essays can be found at: (Note: These instructions are found from the webpage of humanistic sciences, but apply to all students) Some of the course exams can be organized in the electronic exam system, ExamAquarium, Tenttiakvaario. The maintenance and supervision of the Electronic Exam service is centralised, and the supervision takes place through an access control system and recording camera surveillance. More information here: There are only three opportunities to take an exam in the same course, after that the course lecturer should be contacted and the matter discussed. Registering for an exam counts as one of these three times even if the student does not show up at the actual exam occasion. Students are usually not allowed to bring the course material with them to the exams, so always check with the course lecturer what material is allowed in each exam. Coats, bags, mobile phones etc. should be left outside the exam room or at the back of the room. If requested by the exam supervisor, students should be prepared to show proof of identification, e.g. a student card. Exam results are published in study register (transcript) which is accessible through Nettiopsu, and also on the notice boards, on the intranet network, or via . The virtual exam result service, Wentti, can be found on the Student Services webpages. Lists of exams results are published there. Accessing these pages requires that the student has a valid user ID issued by the University of Turku Computing Centre. The results of the exams are registered in University s study register (OPSU). 1.7 Credit and grading system At Finnish universities, 1 credit, cr (opintopiste, abbreviated op) equals 1 ECTS credit. ECTS, the European Credit Transfer System, was developed by the European Commission to provide common procedures that guarantee full transfer of credits for studies abroad toward the final qualification in the home country. ECTS credits are a value allocated to course units and they describe the workload required to complete a course/module. 7

8 1 credit is equal to 27 hours worth of work for a course, seminar or book exam or other methods of teaching. This amount of work includes contact hours and/or outside independent study. 60 credits represent the workload of one year of full-time studies. Grading The grading or assessment of courses usually includes lectures, course participation, essay writing and/or a written examination. An exam may not only be based on lecture notes but may include independent outside study as well. Some courses are graded on a pass/fail basis only. Important: Incomplete or failed courses will not be registered or shown in the study transcript! Courses are assessed according to the following scale, which can be compared with ECTS and USA grades: Finnish grading scale qualitative definition ECTS grades US grades 5 excellent A A+ 4 very good B A 3 good C B 2 satisfactory D C 1 sufficient E D 0 fail F/FX F A completed study module will be assessed with a final grade. The calculated average between the grade and the amount of credits will result in the final grade of a study module: Correlative quantitative value Final grade of the study module Excellent (ET) Very good (KT) Good (HT) Satisfactory (TT) Sufficient (VT) Publishing grades When a course or unit of study has been given a final grade, it will be saved in the Study register. According to Finnish regulations, since examinations with their grades are included in a degree, which is considered public information, examination results may be openly published. However due to the regulations on the protection of personal information, both the name and number of the student may not be publicly published simultaneously. 1.8 Certificates and study transcripts All of the completed studies in the study register are shown in a transcript which can be printed out and used for, e.g. when applying for grants or a job. The most convenient way to follow your own studies is to log into NettiOpsu ( 8

9 The transcript is also available as a hard copy printout. A signed and stamped transcript is available at faculty office. An official stamped transcript can also be obtained at Student Services while you wait. The transcript will be given to the student in question with the proof of identification. If you want a transcript by post, you must send a stamped, self-addressed envelope (first class postage stamp) to: Student Services, University of Turku, FI TURUN YLIOPISTO. The envelope should be accompanied by a cover letter with your student number and date of birth. 1.9 Computers, printers and copying machines Computing Centre services The Computing Centre is a data administration unit of the University of Turku. It takes care of computer services such as local network management (maintenance, development, security and network services), the maintenance and development of support for selected systems and software, the help desk (user guidance, hardware and software retrieval, maintenance) and the development and coordination of administrative applications. The server system managed by the Computing Centre is available to all members of the university. The Computing Centre help desk is located at Educarium, 4th floor, Assistentinkatu 5 (T47 on the map) and is open weekdays from 8.00 to At the help desk, you can purchase a magnetic key for accessing the computer labs of the Computing Centre in Educarium, submit an application for a user account as well as ask for advice about problem situations. There is also a help desk located in Medisiina building, 2 nd floor, Keidas. IT Services maintains public computer classes. In computer classes, you can print study-related material. Not every classroom has free paper available. In general, the students' printing in each classroom is limited by a printing quota. Computer classes Educarium In the 3rd floor of Educarium, there is a computer class meant for all students. This classroom contains forty computers and is open 24 hours a day, every day. In order to enter, you must have an electronic key, which can be bought from the IT Services helpdesk. The key costs 15 euros, but you will get 10 euros back when you return it. You also need to have an ID with you. There are also computer classes in the 4th floor of Educarium. These can be used in daytime during weekdays, if there is no teaching going on there. The students of Master s Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development can use the computer labs in: Dentalia 103: You can get a key from the office of the Faculty of Medicine. Printing quota in use. Medisiina C139 & C140: Always open, in use of the Faculty of Medicine. Printing quota in use. Verstas Room 205: Always open for members of the Faculty of Medicine. Printing quota in use. In addition, the Computing Centre also maintains computer facilities for public use. Detailed information on computer labs and other services provided by the IT Centre are available on the IT Centre web pages on Important! Remember always to log off after use, so that no one else can use your computer domain. User account 9

10 New students receive their user account automatically and they are individually notified about activating it. All students will need a user account almost immediately in the beginning of the studies to get access to university electronic study tools. The terms of use must be explicitly followed. The user account is valid only for students registered as attending. If a student withdraws his/her registration or registers as non-attending, the account will immediately be closed. More information on user accounts and passwords is available on the IT Centre webpages at Copying service and printing You can print, copy and scan with multiple purpose devices located in university public areas, e.g. in libraries, lobbies and computer labs. Printing and copying have traditionally been popular in the academic world. Students and staff are accustomed to copying rare works and printing assignments and theses. University of Turku has taken the responsibility of reducing printing and copying and the costs and environmental effect caused by them on the level of the whole University. The goal has been strived for by providing students and staff with devices with better efficiency, putting printing quotas and electronic copy tag into operation and by favoring and supporting the use of electronic publications. More information on these pages: Those pages will instruct you on how to print copy and scan in the University of Turku, libraries and in public areas. Read the instructions with care and please consider how you could reduce printing and copying. You need a copy tag when you print, copy or scan in libraries, in public areas and with multifunction printers. Copy tag is an electronic printing and copying card. The tag is always personal and getting a tag requires a valid UTU username. With a copy tag you can print copy and scan with multifunction printers. You can also release your print job from almost every multifunction printer. It functions in such a way that the document will not print out until you have approved the printing and the device with your tag. Say you print at the main library; you can release the print job in the Natural Science building I lobby. This way you don't have to wait in line at the main library. The print job will wait for release for 60 hours after which it is discarded. You can get a free copy tag from the following locations: Educarium IT service centre, 4th floor University hill IT service centre (Natural Sciences Building 1) Turku School of Economics IT service centre Sirkkala IT service centre (Verstas, Lemminkäisenkatu 1) Main library, 2nd floor Educarium library, 1st floor Wanha Narikka, Turku School of Economics 1.10 Libraries 10

11 When using the library, you need a library card. You can get it free of charge by presenting your identity card in any of our library units. You can get your library card from any of the library service desks when you borrow the first time. To get a library card as a student you need to present your identity card and to have an address in Finland. As a library card, you can also use a University of Turku student card with a barcode granted before 2013 a library card or a student card of any other university or polytechnic with a barcode NB! Don t forget to activate your card in the library before using it. To activate your card, you must present your identity card and have an address in Finland. The library card is for personal use and it must always be presented when borrowing. The holder of the card is responsible for the borrowed material and commits oneself to obey the library rules. PIN code If you want to use borrow with a machine, make reservations, renew your loans or to have a look at them, you need a personal PIN code in addition to your surname and the number of your library card. To start with all users have the same PIN code which has to be changed through Change PIN" button. If you forget your PIN code, you can only change it at a library service desk. Remember to take your identity card with you! University of Turku Library has several branches including own libraries for departments and the course book library. In addition to these, there is The Student Union of the University of Turku Library which can be a useful source in hunting the course books Career Services and supervision Turku Academic Career Services The Career Services of the University of Turku is part of the Turku Academic Career Services. All those who are studying at either of the universities in Turku or have recently graduated, both exchange and degree students are welcome to use the services provided by the Turku Academic Career Services. They provide information for both graduates and students. Their main task is to help students enter the labour market and to advise them on issues dealing with job-hunting. The Career Services offer employers direct access to highly skilled students and graduates. In addition, Career Services arrange information sessions and group training in job seeking and one-day seminars on the employment opportunities in various fields. Turku Academic Career Services can assist and give advice about applying for domestic and international internships. Current information about the activities of Career Services is available by joining the mailing list on the website. The service also provides information about entrepreneurship. University of Turku career services work in close co-operation with the Career Services at the Åbo Akademi University and the Turku Employment Office. The Career Services at the University of Turku are located in the Agricola-building, Henrikinkatu 1b. More information can be found at 11

12 1.12 Student activities The Student Union of the University of Turku (Turun yliopiston ylioppilaskunta, TYY, is an organisation within the university which serves the interests of the students and takes a stand on issues important to them. All Master's degree students of the University of Turku are automatically members of the Student Union. The annual membership fee of the Student Union is around 100. By being a member you receive a student card. The Lyyra student card works as a payment as well as discount card. There is no charge for using the Lyyra card nor are there any yearly or monthly fees. Instructions for ordering Lyyra card: There is an ordering fee of approximately 15,00 which is payable through the ordering website at myfrank.fi/en. You get the most concrete benefit of being a member of the Student Union with the student card. You need the card for proof of identity when, e.g. visiting FSHS (Finnish Student Health Service) or when borrowing books from the university libraries. Master's and Bachelor's degree students with the student card are entitled to e.g. discounts on long distance trains and buses and government subsidised student lunches. There are also several businesses and shops in Turku that give student discounts Flexible study right: studies at the Åbo Akademi University University of Turku has an agreement of flexible study rights with the Åbo Akademi University. According to this agreement students from University of Turku can freely take courses that are offered by the Åbo Akademi University. The student sends in an electronic application for flexible study right which has to be approved by University of Turku as well as by the Åbo Akademi University. The application is found at ( Joopas Application System). When the application is accepted, the student will get ÅAU student number and computing user account. Without this application the student does not have the right to study at the Åbo Akademi and will not get the credits registered Plagiarism FairUTU What is meant by plagiarism is borrowing material that another person has produced in a way that is against the general research ethical principles and presenting it as one s own. Plagiarism is an increasing problem in university studies. The University of Turku attained Ethical Guidelines for Learning ratified by the Rector on the 5th September These guidelines help define what ethical behaviour means in everyday studies and work. For example, the University Act requires ethical action, but the limits of good ethical practices might be difficult to conceive without proper guidelines. The guidelines highlight respect for the work of others and yourself, loyalty towards the working community and focus on the common basic objective of promoting learning. The fourth paragraph of student guidelines is essential concerning FairUTU practices: My achievements in study are based on real knowledge. There are sub-paragraphs that explain this more concretely: 12

13 I do my assignments and final theses myself and I do not take advantage of other people s work without permission. I report the sources I have used and I do not take as my own information from the internet, other students or from anywhere else. I do not give my own work to another student for fraudulent use nor do I use my earlier achievements as a basis for new ones without references. When engaged in group or pair work, I describe the way work is distributed honestly and in a way that supports the evaluation. What does this mean? All forms of plagiarism, e.g. copying from the sources without proper reference indication, are regarded as falsification. The definition of plagiarism, and how to avoid it (from Åbo Akademi University more information: A distinction is made between the incautious use of material and actual plagiarism. Incautious use of material: Incautious use of material refers to a situation where a student unintentionally presents material produced by another person as his/her own work. The criteria for incautious use of material is met in cases of misunderstanding the nature of the work task, negligence or perceptible inexperience in the correct use of quotations and/or other referencing techniques by the student. Plagiarism: Plagiarism refers to a situation where a student intentionally presents material produced by another person as his/her own work. The criteria for plagiarism is met in cases where a student knows or should know that the reproduced material has been created by another person, or where the student has neglected to follow the teacher s instructions for avoiding incautious use of material. In other words, an act of plagiarism refers to a case where you copy the works or texts of others from books, articles, the internet or other sources with the intention of presenting them as your own. This is cheating and can result in failing the course (and even in being dismissed from the university). In essays and written assignments, sources are often used as a basis for creating new knowledge. When referring to or quoting a source, this must be appropriately marked, that is, a reference should be given. In order to avoid careless use, you should: - Always give the source, regardless of whether you refer to somebody else s text, that is, summarize in your own words what somebody else has written, or whether you quote the text directly. - When quoting somebody, remember to write this as a direct quote; that is, apart from giving the reference, you must place the quote within citation marks or mark the quote in some other way. It is also considered plagiarism if you only give the source, but do not mark the text as a direct quote. You also have to quote your source correctly, that is, word by word if you leave out or add words you must mark this with square brackets. - Do not keep your source text open in front of you when you rewrite the text; it will make it easier for you to actually use your own words. It is important that you rewrite to a sufficient extent in order for the text not be considered as somebody else s. - If you make a direct translation of somebody else s text, you must give the source and also note that you have made a direct translation. (A direct translation remains the intellectual property of the original author.) 13

14 - If you create links to the material of others on the web, you must say where the link leads to. - When reading material for an essay or for a thesis, remember to constantly write notes as to where you take the information from that you might be going to use in your essay or thesis. Making references In avoiding plagiarism or careless use, the most important thing is to know how to mark quotes and make references. The very important thing is consistency in the way in which you make your references and bibliography - use the same system throughout your work. Turnitin Electrical plagiarism detection, Turnitin, is a part of the quality system of education and research at the University of Turku. From 1 January 2013 onwards, dissertations applying for permission for preliminary examination must be attached with a certificate which states that an originality check has been made by the supervisor. From 1 August 2013 onwards, the originality of Bachelor s and Master s theses will be checked in a similar manner during preliminary examination. Dissertations and Master s theses are checked so that the texts are saved in the system as reference material. Bachelor s theses are not saved in the system. 2 Study programme 2.1 Academic year The academic year starts 1 August and ends 31 July. The year is divided into two semesters: Autumn: 1 August 31 December and spring: 1 January 31 July Holidays mainly follow the public holidays in Finland, but in general there is no teaching 10 days before and after the 1 st of January and 3 day before and after the first Easter day, which in 2017 is 16 th of April. Usually there is no teaching organized between 1 st of June and mid-august, but this varies between faculties, and exams are also organized during the summer. More information on the academic calendar and Finnish holidays: Structure of the studies NB! The detailed course information can also be found in Nettiopsu Electronic Curricula Guides: Course webpage: x 14

15 Time-tables: DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT SCIENCE PROFESSIONALISM AND SCIENTIFIC THINKING TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE ADVANCED METHODS IN DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT Principles of Drug Discovery and Development Drug Regulatory Science Bioinformatics in Drug Discovery Clinical Trial Design and Clinical Drug Research Methods in Experimental Pharmacology I Drug Development Learning Project Methods in Experimental Pharmacology II Bioentrepreneurship Finnish Language Therapy Areas in Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine I Therapy Areas in Drug Discovery and Translational Medicine II Elective studies e.g. Molecular Diagnostics and/or Biomedical Imaging Computer-Aided Drug Design Research Project and Master s seminar Master s seminar 15

16 Master s Programme in Drug Discovery and Development 120 ECTS (for the academic year ) The Master's Degree Programme in Drug Discovery and Development is designed to provide students with the necessary skills and knowledge to become experts within the broad area of drug discovery and development processes. The programme is suited for science-based graduates who are seeking an opportunity to continue their studies on PhDlevel research and wish to advance their careers in pharmaceutical industry or regulatory authorities. During the two-year programme will develop a deep understanding of: up-to-date methods applied to identify and validate new drug targets, and to generate lead drug molecules that modulate biological activity of the target technological innovations made in lead optimization process how new drug candidates are investigated during the non-clinical drug development phase methods of clinical drug research, clinical drug development phases, clinical trial design and biostatistical study design various aspects of the drug regulatory science and pharmacovigilance The graduating MSc will be expected to: have in-depth knowledge an insight in drug discovery and development processes define the procedures applied in drug regulatory science and describe the role of drug regulatory authorities during the life-span of a drug demonstrate an ability to conduct research on non-clinical and clinical studies work under self-direction and have personal development competences have skills in time management and acquired lifelong learning skills be able to communicate effectively and convincingly both orally and in writing search for proper information using different media, including the internet, databases and libraries have comprehensive skills to work in the field of biomedicine, drug discovery in companies and science-based industry, universities, research institutes or drug regulatory authorities 16

17 List of study modules Supplementary studies DRUG0001 Supplementary Book Exam on Pharmacology DRUG0002 Supplementary Book Exam on Anatomy and Physiology DRUG0003 Supplementary Book Exam on Histology and Cell Biology ÅA_1902 Laboratory Basics 5 ECTS 6 ECTS 5 ECTS 2 ECTS First year DRUG0005 Principles of drug discovery and development science (Contact person: Markku Koulu) DRUG0006 Drug regulatory science (Contact person: Markku Koulu) DRUG0007 Bioinformatics in drug discovery (Contact person: Sanna Soini and Vidal Fey) Therapy areas in drug discovery and translational medicine I (DRUG0008) & II (DRUG0009) (Contact person: Markku Koulu) DRUG0010 Methods in experimental pharmacology (Contact person: Sanna Soini) ÅA Computer aided drug design (Contact person: Tiina Salminen, ÅA) DRUG0011 Clinical trial design and clinical drug development (Contact person: Petri Vainio and Risto Huupponen) DRUG0012 Drug development learning project (Contact person: Markku Koulu and Ullamari Pesonen) DRUG0013 Bioentrepreneurship (Contact person: Kaisu Paasio) KIFF0003 Finnish for Foreigners, Intensive Beginners Course 8 ECTS 4 ECTS 5 ECTS 12 ECTS 4 ECTS 4 ECTS 5 ECTS 10 ECTS 5 ECTS 5 ECTS Elective studies ECTS Second year DRUG0014 Master s thesis research project and seminars 25 ECTS (Contact person: Markku Koulu, Ullamari Pesonen and Sanna Soini) DRUG0015 Master s thesis research report (pro gradu -report) (Contact person: Markku Koulu and Sanna Soini) 20 ECTS 17

18 Supplementary studies Supplementary studies of maximum 60 ECTS may be necessary depending on the courses the students have passed during their previous studies. These supplementary studies are additional and will not be included in the Master s degree. The aim of these supplementary studies is to bring everyone to approximately same level in biosciences and other topics that are relevant for the studies in Drug Discovery and Development programme. Personal study plan will be made for every newly admitted student and required supplementary studies will be defined in the study plan. Laboratory basics is a mandatory course for everyone whose BSc degree is not awarded in Finland. DRUG0001 Supplementary Book Exam on Pharmacology 5 ECTS Rang, Dale, Ritter, Flower, Henderson: PHARMACOLOGY, Elsevier ISBN (International Edition). DRUG0002 Supplementary Book Exam on Anatomy and Physiology 6 ECTS Tortora GJ, Derrickson B: PRINCIPLES OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Maintenance and Continuity of the Human Body, International Student Version (13th Edition), selected pages. DRUG0003 Supplementary Book Exam on Histology and Cell Biology 5 ECTS Kierszenbaum AL, Tres LL: HISTOLOGY AND CELL BIOLOGY, An Introduction to Pathology (3rd Edition), selected pages. ÅA_1902 Laboratory Basics 2 ECTS (Flexible JOO-study right needed) Subject: Cell Biology Persons in Charge: Diana Toivola, Annika Meinander Objectives The course is a bridging course for students in MSc programme in Biomedical Sciences. The course will teach students basic laboratory techniques, including pipetting, weighing, ph measurements and good laboratory practice. Students will also learn basic laboratory safety issues. Modes of Study Lectures, demonstrations, laboratory work. The course will have exam(s), and reports on the laboratory work. Evaluation Pass/fail Previous Studies BSc in biofield and accepted to the MSc programme in Biomedical Imaging or MSc programme in Drug Discovery and Development. Recommended Year of Study 1. Year 2. Study Materials Moodle 18

19 DRUG0005 Principles of Drug Discovery and Development (8 ECTS) Learning outcomes The aim of the study module is that students can describe the purpose of the different phases of the drug discovery and development process and discuss which particular aspects are emphasized at each stage. Students can critically evaluate and select appropriate research methods to elucidate the pharmacological and pharmaceutical properties of drug molecules as well as to assess the toxicological and safety profiles of drug candidates during the various stages of non-clinical and clinical drug development. Furthermore, students should demonstrate that they understand differences that exist between conventional small molecule drugs and biotechnologically produced biological drugs in terms of their chemical, biological and pharmacological properties that give rise to rather different drug development processes. In addition, students should be able to explain the role of intellectual property rights (IPR) in drug development and how this is reflected in the strategies of drug companies. Students should also become familiar with the ethical guidelines that regulate the use of laboratory animals in research and clinical investigations carried out in humans. Students will also be able to critically assess some historical cases of drug development and to compare these with contemporary cases in order to obtain a wider perspective of the progress that has taken place in drug development science. As builtin component, students practice communication skills by preparing scientific presentations for seminars and writing lab work report. Contents This study module consists of topics divided into the following areas: a) general introduction to the principles of drug discovery and development (historical perspectives and future trends in drug discovery and development, general role of drugs in health care and society, the roles of academia and drug companies in the different phases of drug development, regulatory aspects in drug development), b) drug discovery (identification of biological targets and their validation, screening assay development, high-throughput screening (HTS), hit validation, role of medicinal chemistry in drug discovery, computer aided drug design and lead optimization, methods of production of biological drugs), c) nonclinical drug development (animal efficacy and dosing studies, characterization of pharmacokinetic properties of drug molecules (ADME), characterization of mechanisms of action, toxicological screening and safety evaluation, use of animal models of diseases and translational medicine in drug development), d) clinical drug development (first-in-man studies, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies in man, clinical phases of drug development, clinical trial design), e) seminars on cases of some historical and contemporary drug discovery and development projects, f) journal club and g) lab work. Teaching methods Lectures (62 h), seminars (16 h), journal club-seminars (16 h), lab work (24 h), self study, preparation of presentations and lab report (90 h) Teaching language English Evaluation and evaluation criteria Numerical grade (0-5). Evaluation criteria are based on: a) knowledge of the entire area of the study module, as measured by a written examination (70 % of the grade), b) seminar and journal club presentations and activity (30 % of the grade) and c) accepted report of the lab work. Recommended year of study First year of Master s studies. Autumn semester. Study materials Lecture materials, study materials for seminars and journal clubs, international databanks and guidelines regulating drug development and patent databanks. Relevant reviews and scientific articles. Recommended reading: B.E. Blass, Basic principles of drug discovery and development, Elsevier ISBN: , 574 pages,

20 DRUG0006 Drug regulatory science (4 ECTS) Learning outcomes The aim of the study module is that students can understand and explain the role of regulatory authorities in the drug development and approval process and that they know the legal framework that regulates the field. Students are able to describe the general outline of the procedures applied to marketing authorization applications (MAA) in the European Union and in the USA, and discuss the actions executed by the main regulatory agencies (EMA and FDA). Students are familiar with concepts such as summary of product characteristics, orphan drug status, accelerated application and scientific advice. Furthermore, students can describe how the different sections of MAAs are organized according to the common technical document (CTD) format and how data are presented to demonstrate the pharmaceutical quality, efficacy and safety of a new drug. Students can describe methods used in pharmacovigilance in order to collect safety data of drugs that are already on the market. Furthermore, students can design and analyze regulatory toxicological and safety studies required of a new drug molecule. In addition, students will be able to critically analyze interesting regulatory science cases. As built-in component, students practice communication skills by preparing scientific presentations in form of seminars and by writing report on lab work. Contents This study module consists of topics divided into the following areas: a) role and activities of drug regulatory authorities in the European Union and in the USA (legal frameworks, guidelines, procedures used in the marketing authorization application, European Medicines Agency (EMA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Finnish Medicines Agency (FIMEA), common technical document format (CTD), pharmacolovigilance activity), b) regulatory toxicological and safety evaluation studies (acute, subacute and chronic toxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, environmental toxicity of drugs and their manufacturing procedures, common safety studies), c) historical cases in drug regulatory science (e.g. thalidomide, clozapine, COX2-inhibitors, terfenadine, Pandemrix). Teaching methods Lectures (30 h), seminars (20 h), work book assignments (40 h) and preparation of seminar presentations (10 h). Teaching language English Evaluation and evaluation criteria Numerical grade (0-5). Evaluation criteria are based on the work book outcome (80 %). Evaluation criteria are: a) demonstrated knowledge of substance, b) scientific writing skills, c) creativity and d) keeping up with the given time frame. Quality of the seminar presentations cover 20 % of the final score. Recommended year of the study First year of Master s studies. Autumn semester. Study materials Databases available on web pages of FIMEA, EMA and FDA. ICH guidelines. Relevant review articles and scientific reports. 20

21 DRUG0007 Bioinformatics in Drug Discovery (5 ECTS) Learning outcomes By the end of the study module students will be able to: a) describe how theoretical approaches can be used to model and analyse complex biological systems b) demonstrate some practical and hands-on experience with common bioinformatics tools and databases including command-line scripting c) select a suitable software tool for a given analysis or data management task d) manage and organize datasets using different programs e) analyse, visualise and interpret various types of data including nucleotide and amino acid sequence data, gene expression data and small molecule screening data f) visualise and interpret measured protein inhibitor data and calculate parameters used typically in high throughput screening g) discuss and critically evaluate statistical methods for handling and analysing data h) understand basic concepts of graphical user interfaces Contents This study module covers the following topics: Biological databases (theory and application/queries). Bioinformatics tools in drug development and commonly used software and computing environments (e.g. R, SPSS, Excel, Chipster etc.) Analysis of microchip, protein inhibitor and sequence data (e.g. gene expression arrays, RNASeq, variant analysis). Teaching methods Classroom lectures and distance learning, independent work, supervised hands-on computer classes, supervised tutorials Teaching language English Modes of study Lectures (30 h), tutorials (30 h), exercise sessions and self study (75 h) Evaluation and evaluation criteria Active participation in the seminars is required to pass. Some tasks require written reports. Electronic examination. Recommended year of study First year of Master s studies. Autumn semester. Study materials Materials and handouts from the lectures and demonstrations. 21