Department of Chemistry course timetable
March 2017
Mon 20 |
FS3 Integrity and Ethics in Research
Finished
A thorough awareness of issues relating to research ethics and research integrity are essential to producing excellent research. The first part of this session will provide an introduction to the ethical responsibilities of researchers at the University, the second will focus on publication ethics and both will be interactive, using case studies to better understand key ethical issues and challenges in all areas. There are two sessions running, you need attend only one. These sessions are held by Drs Emily Skinner (Publishing Ethics Specialist, RSC) and Rhys Morgan (Cambridge University Research Strategy Office) |
Tue 21 |
An hour devoted to a discussion of how to plan your time effectively on a day to day basis, how to produce a dissertation/thesis (from first year report to MPhil to PhD) and the essential requirements of an experimental section. This is a compulsory session for 1st year post-graduates. |
FS2 Dignity@Study
Finished
The University of Cambridge is committed to protecting the dignity of staff, students, visitors to the University, and all members of the University community in their work and their interactions with others. The University expects all members of the University community to treat each other with respect, courtesy and consideration at all times. All members of the University community have the right to expect professional behaviour from others, and a corresponding responsibility to behave professionally towards others. Nick will explore what this means for graduate students in this Department and the session will conclude with tea/coffee and biscuits, in order to provide an opportunity to ask questions more informally. |
|
Thu 23 |
IS3 Research Information Skills
Finished
This compulsory course will equip you with the skills required to manage the research information you will need to gather throughout your graduate course, as well as the publications you will produce yourself. It will also help you enhance your online research profile and measure the impact of research. |
Fri 24 |
IS4 Research Data Management
Finished
This compulsory session introduces Research Data Management (RDM) to Chemistry PhD students. It is highly interactive and utilises practical activities throughout. Key topics covered are:
Lunch and refreshments are included for this course |
April 2017
Thu 20 |
Submission of the first year report can seem to be a daunting experience, from constructing it to submitting and then being assessed by academic staff. In this session, Marie Dixon (Degree Committee Office, School of Physical Sciences), Rachel MacDonald and Deborah Longbottom will talk through all aspects of procedure and answer any questions students wish to pose. Students who went through the first year exam in 2016, as well as members of academic staff who carry out first year vivas will also be there to talk about the reality of the process from all perspectives. For FS17 PhD Thesis Submission and the viva Experience: https://www.training.cam.ac.uk/event/1906775 For FS18 MPhil Thesis Submission and the viva Experience: https://www.training.cam.ac.uk/event/1906776 |
May 2017
Tue 2 |
IS3 Research Information Skills
Finished
This compulsory course will equip you with the skills required to manage the research information you will need to gather throughout your graduate course, as well as the publications you will produce yourself. It will also help you enhance your online research profile and measure the impact of research. A short break for refreshments will be included |
IS1 Chemistry Library Orientation
Finished
This is a compulsory session which introduces new graduate students to the Department of Chemistry Library and its place within the wider Cambridge University Library system. It provides general information on what is available, where it is, and how to get it. Print and online resources are included. You must choose one session out of the 9 sessions available. |
|
Wed 3 |
IS4 Research Data Management
Finished
This compulsory session introduces Research Data Management (RDM) to Chemistry PhD students. It is highly interactive and utilises practical activities throughout. Key topics covered are:
Lunch and refreshments are included for this course |
Wed 10 |
DD1 The Drug Discovery Process
Finished
Drug discovery is a complex multidisciplinary process with chemistry as the core discipline. A small molecule New Chemical Entity (NCE) (80% of drugs marketed) has had its genesis in the mind of a chemist. A successful drug is not only biologically active (the easy bit), but is also therapeutically effective in the clinic – it has the correct pharmacokinetics, lack of toxicity, is stable and can be synthesised in bulk, selective and can be patented. Increasingly, it must act at a genetically defined sub-population of patients. Medicinal chemists therefore work at the centre of a web of disciplines – biology, pharmacology, molecular biology, toxicology, materials science, intellectual property and medicine. This fascinating interplay of disciplines is the intellectual space within which a chemist has to make the key compound that will become an effective medicine. It happens rarely, despite enormous investment in time, money and effort. What factors make a program successful? I would like to briefly outline the process, but importantly to offer some key with examples of success |
Fri 12 |
DD2 The Drug Discovery Process
Finished
Drug discovery is a complex multidisciplinary process with chemistry as the core discipline. A small molecule New Chemical Entity (NCE) (80% of drugs marketed) has had its genesis in the mind of a chemist. A successful drug is not only biologically active (the easy bit), but is also therapeutically effective in the clinic – it has the correct pharmacokinetics, lack of toxicity, is stable and can be synthesised in bulk, selective and can be patented. Increasingly, it must act at a genetically defined sub-population of patients. Medicinal chemists therefore work at the centre of a web of disciplines – biology, pharmacology, molecular biology, toxicology, materials science, intellectual property and medicine. This fascinating interplay of disciplines is the intellectual space within which a chemist has to make the key compound that will become an effective medicine. It happens rarely, despite enormous investment in time, money and effort. What factors make a program successful? I would like to briefly outline the process, but importantly to offer some key with examples of success |
Mon 15 |
This workshop will introduce key concepts in sustainable materials design, including the evolution of materials, current material classes and consumption, life cycle analysis, and eco audits. Following the introduction to theory and several examples of applying eco audits to frequently debated problems, students will take apart modern electronic devices (tools provided). The workshop will close with a critical examination of the devices, material and design choices, as well as end-of-life options. |
Wed 17 |
When you have 1000s of possible compounds you could make from any one start point what do you make first? This lecture will cover some general basic principles on designing more potent molecules, as well as some practical tips on how to run an optimization program and how to focus synthetic efforts. Binding modalities (reversible, covalent) will be briefly covered, as well as some newer non-traditional modalities. This lecture will also serve as an introduction to the medicinal chemistry game Dr F Goldberg - AstraZeneca |
Thu 18 |
FS13 LaTex
Finished
This hands-on course teaches the basics of Latex including syntax, lists, maths equations, basic chemical equations, tables, graphical figures and internal and external referencing. We also learn how to link documents to help manage large projects. The course manual is presented in the style of a thesis and since you also receive the source code you also receive a template for a thesis. |
Fri 19 |
A real drug discovery example will be used. After a brief introduction to the task and the chemical startpoint, we will split into teams and iteratively try to design improved analogues. Molecules will be marked “in real time” during the session to recreate the design-make-test-analysis cycle, then teams can compare their optimized molecules, and we can compare them to what happened in real life. Dr F Goldberg - AstraZeneca |
Mon 22 |
DD5 Pharmacokinetics
Finished
Predicting and controlling how a chemical molecule will be processed by the body is vital to developing a successful drug. This lecture will discuss the path a molecule takes from initial dose through to elimination, describe the ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion) processes that take place and how these are related to compound structure and physicochemical properties. In addition to standard small molecule PK some other new modalities will be also be introduced to illustrate how methods such as PEGylation and lipoparticle encapsulation can be employed to modulate compound pharmacokinetic properties. Dr R Ian Storer - AstraZeneca |
DD5 Pharmacokinetics
Finished
Predicting and controlling how a chemical molecule will be processed by the body is vital to developing a successful drug. This lecture will discuss the path a molecule takes from initial dose through to elimination, describe the ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion) processes that take place and how these are related to compound structure and physicochemical properties. In addition to standard small molecule PK some other new modalities will be also be introduced to illustrate how methods such as PEGylation and lipoparticle encapsulation can be employed to modulate compound pharmacokinetic properties. Dr R Ian Storer - AstraZeneca |
|
Wed 24 |
DD6 Toxicity and Drug Safety
Finished
Drug safety remains the primary cause of compound attrition when developing new medicines and consequently the ability to understand and predict toxicity is regarded as high priority within the pharmaceutical sector. This lecture will describe some common safety liabilities and ongoing work to build a greater understanding of the relationships between chemical structure and toxicity risk that are being harnessed to guide the design of safer compounds Dr R Ian Storer - AstraZeneca |
Thu 25 |
AthenaSWAN Event
Finished
Following our recent straw poll on how members of the Department would like to meet up and discuss issues relating to gender equality in our Department, this mixed gender meeting invites you to come and contribute to a discussion session over lunch. The questions and issues to be discussed will be generated through people filling out this Anonymous Survey and all ideas/suggestions produced during the meeting will be taken to the AthenaSWAN Committee for discussion, potential approval and implementation. |
Fri 26 |
DD7 Kinase Inhibitor Case Studies
Finished
Kinase drug discovery remains to be an area of significant and growing interest across academia and in the pharmaceutical industry - there are approximately 30 FDA approved small molecule inhibitors which target kinases, half of which were approved in the last 3 years. This lecture will give an insight into the medicinal chemistry story behind one clinical candidate and 2 marketed drugs. Crystal structures will be used to explain general principles behind designing for kinase inhibition, and some more advanced topics will be covered such as prodrugs, covalent inhibition and consideration of mutation status in drug discovery Dr F Goldberg - AstraZeneca |
Are you a post-doc applying for grants? Do you need to write a Data Management Plan as part of your grant application but don't know how? Are you a post-doc who is just interested in learning about writing data management plans? If so, this session is for you. During this session you will learn everything you need to know about data management plans:
Refreshments will be provided (tea, coffee, and biscuits). |
|
Wed 31 |
DD8 Agrochemical Discovery
Finished
As the world population continues to grow, so does the need to increase global food production sustainably with limited resources. Agrochemicals, in the form of herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, provide an important tool for farmers to combat the weeds, fungi and insect pests that target their crops and help to ensure reliable yields and quality produce. Resistance, emerging pests, abiotic stress and regulatory pressure all drive an ongoing search for new and more innovative crop protection products. This lecture will outline the process used to discover new agrochemicals, from lead generation through to development. It will show the critical roles that chemistry, biology and human & environmental safety play, illustrated with a number of recent examples. Dr Steve Smith - Syngenta |
June 2017
Fri 2 |
DD9 Process Chemistry
Finished
Two complementary lectures, between which tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided for all participants, industry experts on process chemistry from GSK and Syngenta will share their experiences and challenges gathered over many years of experience |
Tue 6 |
FS21 Your Training Record
Finished
If you are not sure what the Training Record is for, why it is a good idea to use it (as well as filling it in because you need to submit it alongside your first year report) and why it is now an excel spreadsheet and not a paper log book with a blue cover (as all the previous years were issued with), please come to this session. Deborah will give a brief talk and background to these things and answer questions from attendees for the remainder of the time. |
Wed 7 |
FS19 Writing Up Wednesdays
Finished
Three drop-in sessions will be held in the direct run up to first year report submission, in order primarily to provide students with the opportunity to come and ask questions about any aspect of the first year report submission process that is not clear to them. However, any student with any query is welcome to turn up and see a combination of at least two of those listed above: we will endeavor to help you with anything you ask us about. |