Using Personalized Medicine and Pharmacogenetics (FutureLearn)

Using Personalized Medicine and Pharmacogenetics (FutureLearn)

Get to grips with pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine, so you can make informed treatment decisions. Personalized medicine and pharmacogenetics both promise exciting new developments in healthcare. On this course you will explore their potential, taking a close look at the human genome, genome and exome sequencing, pharamcogenetics tests, a review of current best evidence and the use of personalized medicine in cancer therapy.

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Finally you will apply what you’ve learned to prescribing fluoropyrimidines (FU), enabling you to test your knowledge so you feel confident about applying it in your own discipline.

What topics will you cover?

  • Background information
  • Genetic variation & genetic disease
  • Pharmacology & pharmacokinetics
  • Clinical & ethical scenarios
  • Cancer biology & cancer genetics
  • Evidence-based practice

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Describe the human genome
  • Compare Mendelian traits with complex genetic traits
  • Explain DNA analysis & discuss the importance of whole genome sequencing and exome sequencing
  • Explain the problem of variants of unknown significance
  • Describe pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
  • Discuss adverse events and the ethical principle “to do no harm”
  • Discuss pharmacogenetic tests and clinical utility
  • Explain driver mutations and companion diagnostics

-Discuss the use of treatment stratification and rational drug design for cancer patients
-Apply the principles of personalised medicine to the safe prescribing of fluoropyrimidines (FU)

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