Postgraduate courses and subjects 2000

The Graduate School

Introduction
Research
Flexible learning arrangements

Introduction

The Graduate School was founded in 1970 to develop and direct all graduate studies in the college.
Graduate matters are now administered by a graduate studies committee with elected members from each department. The committee is chaired by the associate dean (Graduate Studies) who represents the college on the PhD and Scholarships Committee of the university.

Research

Research facilities are available within all departments for students to undertake graduate work in experimental and theoretical areas of the pharmaceutical sciences.
Students may apply for entry to graduate study courses by arrangement with the associate dean (Graduate Studies). The following fields of research are available for graduate studies.

Pharmaceutics

The general field of research is drug delivery and formulation sciences. Recent projects include:

· physicochemical assessment and analytical method development for new drug candidates
· biopharmaceutical characterisation of novel neuroprotective agents
· stability assessment of potential neuroprotective agents
· oral bioavailability of novel prodrugs of a nucleoside analogue
· absorption mechanisms for novel prodrugs of a nucleoside analogue
· synthesis, physicochemical and biological evaluation of a novel prodrug for increasing the water solubility of tertiary amine-containing drugs
· formulation development studies for CoQ₁₀
· development and validation of an in vitro model for assessing intestinal absorption of human growth hormone in combination with a novel carrier system
· examination of the absorption of lipophilic drugs from intestinal mixed micelles
· absorption of drugs by the intestinal lymphatic system
· effect of drug binding to plasma lipoproteins on the pharmacokinetics of alkyl ester prodrugs of a model lipophilic drug
· effect of bile salts on the intestinal permeability of lipophilic drugs
· examinatin of the oral bioavaiability of a novel peptide
· examination of the factors affecting the digestion of lipid based dosage forms
· enhancement of delivery of drugs across the skin
· formulaton of dry powder inhalers
· dispersion of micronised drugs during dissolution

Medicinal chemistry

· synthesis and characterisation of bioactive molecules, such as enzyme inhibitors, peptides, CNS-active drugs and carbohydrate-based drugs
· NMR spectroscopic and computer-graphic studies of drug-receptor interactions
· protein chemistry and molecular biology

Pharmaceutical biology and pharmacology

· pharmacological investigations on antidepressants, antipsychotics, opioids, cannabis and other drugs of abuse
· the pharmacology of gut secretion and antidiarrhoeal drugs
· autonomic mechanisms, pre and postjunctional agonists and antagonists, receptor differentiation, receptor transduction mechanisms
· adenosine and its receptors
· the pathology and pharmacology of skin disease

Pharmacy practice

· quality usage of medicines, drug usage in the elderly, attitudes of patients to their medications and health professionals
· continuing pharmacy education
· attitudes of pharmacists to their professional roles
· pharmacist intervention in the prescribing cycle
· dose optimisation in oncology, spinal and infectious disease
· drug-related problems and rates of hospital admissions

Flexible learning arrangements

The university is proud of its flexible learning arrangements. Students with family and/or work commitments can access honours and higher degree research programs on a part-time basis. Part-time scholarships are also available.
For more information on all these issues, contact the college's associate dean (Graduate Studies) or the Research Training and Support Branch of the university on (03) 9905 2059.