Drug Discovery

Department

Master's Program Biotechnology

Course unit code

BT_MA20_2_1

Number of ECTS credits allocated

1.5

Name of lecturer(s)

Mag. Nußbaumer Carmen, PhD

Mode of delivery

face-to-face

Recommended optional program components

none

Assessment methods and criteria

Exam

Level of course unit

Master

Year of study

Spring 2026

Semester when the course unit is delivered

2

Language of instruction

English

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Screening of new drugs for the application in humans is a wide and important field of research. To identify new and safe drugs different screening and validation methods are applied. High Throughput Screening for example, is a method to identify and screen thousands of drugs in a short time. Here different approaches can be used, for example whole animal screening, biochemical screening or whole cell screening. To validate a hit drug, in vivo test as animal tests or organ-on-a-chip methods can be applied. This lecture will give you an overview of the different stages of drug screening and you will get to know different screening methods.

Course contents

At the end of this lecture you will....

- know distinct methods for drug discovery, drug screening and target validation
- understand the molecular mechanisms of drug action
- know the different stages of drug screening methods
- know the differences of in vitro and in vivo methods

Work placement(s)

none