2010
Contact
Pharmacology and
Department of Pharmacology and
Clinical Pharmacology
Clinical Pharmacology
School of Medical Sciences
The Un
U ive
v rsity of Au
A ckland
Priva
v te
t Bag 9201
0 9
1
Handbook
Au
A ckland 11
1 4
1 2, Ne
N w
e Zealand
0800 61
6 62 63
Phone: +64 9 37
3 3
7 75
7 99 ext 867
6 3
7 3
Fax: +64 9 37
3 3
7 7090
We
W b: www.fmhs.auc
www
kland.ac.nz/sms/phar
.fmhs.auc
macology

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Table of Contents
Introduction
2
About the Department
3
Staff
4
Areas of Research Interest
7
Courses and Programmes
10

Science
10

Medicine
13

Description of Course Content
14
Lecture and Laboratory Timetable
18
Possible Careers
19
The Academic Year
Inside back cover
Disclaimer
Although every reasonable effort is made to
ensure accuracy, the information in this
document is provided as a general guide only
for students and is subject to alteration.
Al students enrol ing at The University of
Auckland must consult its official document,
the 2010 Calendar of The University of
Auckland, to ensure that they are aware of
and comply with al regulations, requirements
and policies.
2010 Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology

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Pharmacology and Clinical
Pharmacology
Handbook - 2010
2010 Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology | 1

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Introduction
What is Pharmacology and Toxicology?
Pharmacology involves the study of the actions of drugs and chemicals on cel s, tissues and the whole
body. It includes finding out how drugs produce beneficial and adverse effects, with the aim of improving
the way drugs are tested and to give greater benefit in the treatment of disease. The cel ular and
chemical abnormalities of disease states are studied in the expectation that molecules may be designed
specifical y to correct the abnormality. The study of pharmacology requires understanding normal body
functions (biochemistry and physiology) and the disturbances that occur (pathology).
Pharmacology is the basis of much of the research and development of new drugs. The future of
pharmacology is assured, as there remain many diseases for which neither cure nor pal iation have been
devised - for example, Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS, many forms of cancer. Even when a cure or treatment
is available, few medicines are perfect and the search for better drugs continues. In addition, other
scientists such as physiologists, biochemists and psychologists often find a knowledge of pharmacology
useful as they use drugs to probe and define the biological systems they are studying.
Toxicology is closely related to pharmacology but specialises in the study of the harmful effects of drugs
and other chemicals on biological systems. A toxicologist is trained to examine the nature of these
effects, including their cel ular, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of action; and to assess the
potential effects on human health and environmental significance of various types of chemical
exposures. The variety of potential adverse effects and the diversity of chemicals in the environment
make toxicology a very broad science.
In brief, pharmacologists and toxicologists aim to develop a better understanding of the actions of drugs
and chemicals on biological systems for the improvement of human and animal health.
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About the Department
Physical Location
Direct access is available to a Storm
2nd Floor,
phosphoimager and a Confocal microscope. An
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
ICP-mass spectrometer and an Ion Trap capil ary
LC-mass spectrometer are also available as core
The University of Auckland, Grafton Campus
facilities.
85 Park Road
Grafton
The Department also houses the Discovery-1
Auckland
High-content screening platform which is a high
throughput automated fluoresecence microscope
Postal Address
and image analysis system for drug discovery
Department of Pharmacology and Clinical
and functional genomics.
Pharmacology
Sources of support from outside The University
The University of Auckland
include the:
Private Bag 92119
Auckland 1142
• Health Research Council,
New Zealand
• Cancer Society of New Zealand
• NZ Neurological Foundation
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 86733
• National Heart Foundation
Fax:
+64 9 373 7090
Website:
• National Child Health Research Foundation
www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/sms/pharmacology
• Lotteries Health Board
• Auckland Medical Research Foundation
• The Wel come Trust
The Department of Pharmacology and Clinical
• The Marsden Fund
Pharmacology was established in 1978 and is
situated on the second floor of the Clinical
• FRST
Building (503) at The University of Auckland
• The National Research Centre for Growth and
Medical and Health Sciences Campus.
Development (NRCGD)
It is one of the 5 Departments in the School of
Medical Sciences. It is involved in the teaching of
pharmacology and toxicology to medical,
pharmacy and science students, and has many
active research programmes in diverse areas of
biomedical research. Major instrumental facilities
include core laboratories for molecular biology,
microscopy and imaging, tissue culture,
electrophysiology, contractility, radioactivity
measurement, HPLC and immunoassay. HPLC
equipment includes multiple dual pump systems,
automatic injectors, multiwavelength detectors,
direct radioactivity monitor and gradient
control ers.
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Staff
Academic
Head of Department
Associate Professor in Clinical
and Associate Professor
Pharmacology
James Paxton,
Mark McKeage,
PhD Glasgow
MBChB Otago MMedSci , PhD
Ext 86413, Room 503-287
LondonFRACP
j.paxton@auckland.ac.nz
Ext 87322, Room 503-291
m.mckeage@auckland.ac.nz
Professor Michael Dragunow,
Associate Professor in
PhD Otago
Pharmacology
Ext 86403, Room 503-501G
Michel e Glass,
m.dragunow@auckland.ac.nz
PhD Auckland
Ext 86247, Room 503-501F
m.glass@auckland.ac.nz
Professor in Clinical
Associate Professor in
Pharmacology
Pharmacology
Peter Black,
Bronwen Connor,
MBChB, FRACP
PhD Auckland
Ext 89797, Room 503-245
Ext 83037, Room 502-501D
pn.black@auckland.ac.nz
b.connor@auckland.ac.nz
Professor in Clinical
Senior Lecturer in Toxicology
Pharmacology
Malcolm Tingle,
Nicholas Holford,
PhD Liverpool
MSc MBChB Manc, MRCP(UK),
Ext 84949, Room 503-295
FRACP
m.tingle@auckland.ac.nz
Ext 86730, Room 503-229
n.holford@auckland.ac.nz
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Senior Lecturer
Debbie Young,
PhD Auckland
Ext 84491, Room 502-501C
ds.young@auckland.ac.nz
Senior Pharmacology Tutors
Liam Anderson,
Rachel Cameron
BTech, PGDip Forensic
PhD Auckland
Auckland
Ext 86950, Room 503-299
Ext 86037, Room 3297
r.cameron@auckland.ac.nz
l.anderson@auckland.ac.nz
Deanna Bel
Lesley Schwarcz
PhD Auckland
PhD Eugene
Ext 86950, Room 503-299
Ext 86950 Room 503-299
d.bel @auckland.ac.nz
l.schwarcz@auckland.ac.nz
Annarosa Petrucci
MSc Industrial Pharmacy, Naples
Ext 86037, Room 503-297
a.petrucci@auckland.ac.nz
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Teaching Technicians
Joint Honorary Appointments
Adina Giurgiu,
Professor Lynn Ferguson (Pathology)
MSc Romania
Prof Alan Merry (Anaesthesiology)
Ext 85058, Room 502-361
Professor Murray Mitchel (Liggins Institute)
a.giurgiu@auckland.ac.nz
Dr Guy Warman (Anaesthesiology)
Professor Bil Wilson (Pathology)
Dr David Woolner (Merck Sharpe & Dohme)
Mr Trevor Speight (Medicines Information
Company)
Research Fellows
Gabriel a Blidarean
Hannah Gibbons, PhD Auckland
MSc Romania
Scott Graham, PhD Aberdeen
Ext 85058, Room 502-361
Yan Li, PhD Otago
g.blidarean@auckland.ac.nz
Johnson Liu, PhD Guangzhou
Shu Chin Ma, PhD Yale
Christof Maucksch, PhD Munich
Ailsa McGregor, PhD Glasgow
Lian Wu, PhD Auckland
Renee Gordon, PhD Auckland
Carrie Lin
Research Technicians
BSc (Hons) Auckland
Ext 85058, Room 502-361
Miranda Aalderink, MSc Massey
cj.lin@auckland.ac.nz
Claire Lil , MSc Massey
Joelene Qiao, MSc Auckland
Eduardo Sequeiros, MSc Auckland
Yvonne Sun, MSc Auckland
Sheryl Feng, MSc Auckland
Barbara Fackelmeier, BSc Munich
Administrative Staff
Hiljanne Van der Meer, MSc Utrecht

Kavita Hussein

PA to the Head of Department

Ext 86733, Room 503-289

k.hussein@auckland.ac.nz
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Areas of
Research
Interest
Anticancer Drugs
Neural Repair & Neurogenesis
(Drs McKeage, Paxton, Tingle, Wilson)
(Dr Connor)
Cancer is the most common cause of death
The laboratory of Neural Repair & Neurogenesis
between the ages of 30 to 60. Chemotherapy has
focuses predominantly on developing new
emerged as a form of cancer treatment which,
medicines and therapeutic strategies to treat
although it may have very disagreeable side
disorders of the brain that involve nerve cell
effects, has dramatical y improved survival for
death such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s
some cancers, particularly in children. More
disease, Huntington’s disease, head injury,
effective and less toxic drugs are required. New
epilepsy and stroke. Research is being undertaken
drugs have been developed local y in the Auckland
to develop novel treatment strategies to prevent
Cancer Society Research Centre and col aborative
cel death, replace lost nerve cel s and reduce
research is under way into their fate (i.e.
clinical symptoms of neurodegenerative disease
absorption, distribution, metabolism and
and brain injury using techniques such as gene
elimination) in various animal models and in
delivery and stem cel therapy.
human subjects; the construction of concentration-
effect models; tumour-targeted drug delivery and
Paediatric Pharmacology
action; mechanisms of toxicity, and the
(Dr Holford)
extrapolation of these results to patients for more
effective therapy and fewer adverse drug reactions.
Prof Holford works with Prof Anderson at
Cancer Clinical Pharmacology
Starship Hospital on the clinical pharmacology
of medicines in babies and children. The
(Drs McKeage & Liu)
focus of the work is to understand how the
changing size and maturation of organ function
We are a research group of eight staff and
can be used to predict pharmacokinetic and
students working on translational and clinical
pharmacodynamic properties of medicines. This
projects concerned with the clinical
is then used to create practical dosing guidelines
pharmacology and development of anticancer
for babies ranging from very premature to full
drugs. Our group mission is to reduce suffering
term and then for infants and children. Some
and mortality from cancer by generating
data is col ected at Starship Hospital but most
pharmacological knowledge about new and
of the analysis relies on col aboration with
existing anticancer drugs for ultimate use in their
paediatricians overseas.
clinical applications.
Current research projects are exploring novel
DMXAA-based drug combinations,
chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
and novel anticancer drugs in phase I trials.
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Disease Progress And Drug Action
Respiratory Pharmacology
(Dr Holford)
(Dr Black)
Clinical pharmacology expresses the combined
The pathogenesis and treatment of asthma and
knowledge of disease and how drugs affect it.
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is
Attention is turning towards understanding how
being investigated. Airway remodel ing is being
drugs affect the long-term progression of disease.
studied with a particular interest in factors
Dr Holford is engaged in studies of Parkinson’s
influencing the growth of cultured lung
Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease, osteoporosis,
fibroblasts. Clinical studies have focused on novel
depression and HIV/AIDS which describe both
treatments for asthma and for treating COPD.
the effects of drugs and the natural progression
of the disease over time.
Toxicology
(Dr Tingle)
Bioavailability, metabolism and
transport of Phytochemicals
The toxicity of many foreign compounds involves
(Drs Paxton & Li)
metabolism to a reactive intermediate that can
interact with a critical macromolecule and induce
It is now accepted that a high intake of
direct toxicity (cel death), genotoxicity or
phytochemicals from a diet rich in fruit and
hypersensitivity reactions. Research is focussed
vegetables results in a reduced risk of cancer,
on the role of metabolism in drug toxicity. In
cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and other
particular, interspecies and inter-individual
age-related degenerative il nesses. Most research
differences in the expression and activity of
on these dietary “phyto-pharmaceuticals” has
xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes and their effect
focussed on their mechanisms of action, but to be
on the toxicity of drugs and environmental
effective, these bioactive food ingredients must
toxicants is studied. In addition the effect of drugs
cross the gut epithelium, gain access to the
on the metabolism and disposition of endogenous
bloodstream, and reach their target site of action
factors that results in adverse drug reactions is
in the hepatocytes, or tumour cel s, or other
also investigated.
organs in the body. A better understanding of
these interactions with the uptake and efflux
Human Neurodegeneration
systems and drug metabolizing enzymes in the
Research
body wil al ow strategies to improve the
beneficial effects of these bioactive food
(Dr Dragunow)
ingredients to prevent cancer and ageing
This group uses cel line models of the nervous
diseases by diet supplementation tailored to the
system to dissect out the signal transduction
individual. In addition, these studies wil al ow the
cascades regulating processes such as neuronal
identification of possible detrimental drug-
differentiation, nerve cel death, survival, axon
phytochemical interactions. It is also highly likely
growth, astrocyte migration, and microglial
that these studies wil lead to the identification of
activation. These cel lines (alone and in
diet-derived compounds for development as a
co-culture) are also used to make in vitro models
clinical agent to reverse multidrug resistance, one
of neurodegenerative disorders and as cel -based
of the major factors responsible for the failure of
screens for bioactive & biotoxic substances. This
cancer chemotherapy.
group is also involved in molecular and cel ular
studies of the diseased and normal human brain,
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Document Outline

• Pharmacol 2010 CoverA5_03LR 2
• Pharmacol 2010 CoverA5_03LR 3
• Pharmacol2010 A5_03LR
• Pharmacol 2010 CoverA5_03LR 4
• Pharmacol 2010 CoverA5_03LR 1

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