Postgraduate Course: Measuring Drug Binding (PGBI11071)

Course Outline
School	School of Biological Sciences	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	Online Distance Learning Course A core competency in Drug Discovery is to appreciate how to measure drug binding quantitatively, in order to assess derivatives of a żleadż compound that bind more tightly. There are common pitfalls in the interpretation of these numbers, which are inadequately appreciated by many. The course is designed to introduce students to concepts and nomenclature in quantitating drug binding. A common technique involving fluorescence quenching will be used for illustration. Students will fit experimental data using a variety of models and use statistical techniques to distinguish between them. Concepts of over- and under-fitting data, and correlation of parameters will be illustrated, as well as confounding artefacts that affect biophysical techniques.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Course Start Date	18/09/2017
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Online Activities 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 78 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	50% = Group Assessment (including maximum 20% variation for Peer Assessment of contribution) 50% = Electronic Portfolio (comprising of learning log and contribution to skills profile)
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Demonstrate advanced knowledge of concepts applied to measuring drug binding; Acquire the ability to use common software to fit experimental data and to extend this into unknown situations; Show an appreciation of under- and over-fitting experimental data and be able to use statistical methods to demonstrate either; Show awareness in the literature of common pitfalls in measuring drug binding ; Have acquired a critical faculty regarding potential artifacts in biophysical techniques.