Learn Pharmacology Online
Get an in-depth look at how drugs and other therapeutics can be used to treat and prevent diseases.
In HMX Fundamentals Pharmacology, you’ll learn about the key principles governing what the body does to a drug and, in turn, what a drug does to the body – along the way, you’ll understand how physicians use this knowledge in daily patient care.
This online certificate course is led by Harvard Medical School faculty and features:
- detailed animations and illustrations of medical concepts
- clinical application videos including real doctor-patient interactions
- ongoing, rigorous assessments to ensure content mastery
Learn more about the course:
Course Information
Upcoming course periods
June 4 – August 16, 2024 | Apply now through May 14
Partial tuition waiver application deadline: Tuesday, April 30 at 12 noon US ET (HMX Fundamentals only)
September 3 – November 15, 2024 | Application opens May 15
January 14 – March 28, 2025 | Application opens August 14
Course length
Each course is 10 weeks long. New lessons are released weekly, and material remains available until the course closes. Expect to spend 3-6 hours per course per week.
Course cost
US$800 for an individual course
What Learners Say
Samantha Petzer
Pharmacy graduate
“I thought it was really an awesome way to put into context how concepts can be applied in real clinical practice.”
Meher Muhammad Zeeshan
University of Pécs, Hungary
“The most helpful thing I found was the clinical scenarios. They brought us to the clinical areas and they would explain everything with different patients and especially about the mechanisms of action and drug development.”
Ganzell Mills
Pharmacy technician
“I really loved how it was delivered because as soon as I finish one lesson [there’s] a small quiz, and by doing that you retain a lot of the information.”
Course Topics
Overview
- Course introduction
- Meet the faculty
- High-level overview
Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Drug nomenclature
- Drug classes
- Drug modalities
- Routes of administration
Pharmacokinetics I
- Absorption
- Bioavailability
- Distribution
- Body compartments
- Volume of distribution
Pharmacokinetics II
- Phase 1 and 2 reactions
- First-pass metabolism
- Excretion
- First- and zero-order kinetics
- Therapeutic window
Targets of Drug Action
- Common drug mechanisms
- Receptors, enzymes, ion channels, and transporters
- New drug mechanisms
- Protein-based, gene-based, and cell-based therapies
Pharmacodynamics
- Receptor and ligand binding
- Dose response relationships
- Individual variation
- Pharmacogenetics
Drug Toxicity
- Toxic and lethal dosing
- Mechanisms of drug toxicity
- Drug interactions
- Adverse drug reactions
Drug Discovery and Development
- Drug discovery and design
- Preclinical drug development
- Clinical drug development
Course Instructors
Kate McDonnell-Dowling, PhD
Course Lead
Lecturer in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
Curriculum Fellow in Online Learning
James P. Rathmell, MD
Primary Clinical Faculty
Leroy D. Vandam Professor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School
Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
David E. Golan, MD, PhD
Primary Advising Faculty
Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
Dean for Research Operations and Global Programs, Harvard Medical School
George R. Minot Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital