Medicinal Chemistry: Chemical Sciences

Overview

What is Medicinal Chemistry?

Medicinal chemists are the creative talent behind the modern pharmaceutical industry. As well as being expert chemists, they have extensive knowledge of molecular design, drug synthesis, and the biological function of drugs.

Do you enjoy...

• Finding out how things work?
• Carrying out laboratory experiments?
• Analysing problems and finding solutions?

Medicinal Chemistry: The course for you?

Yes, if your dream is to design and prepare new drugs, if you want to understand the biological mechanisms by which they operate, if you have a natural flair for chemistry and are interested in developing the skills and expert knowledge relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.

Medicinal Chemistry at Trinity

Medicinal Chemistry modules primarily provided by members of the Discipline of Organic, Medicinal and Biological Chemistry. Core chemistry courses are provided by all School of Chemistry academics. Research opportunities are available also in other Disciplines of the School and in affiliated research institutes such as TBSI, TTMI, TSJCI. Lecturers practice research-centred interdisciplinary teaching and have many active and externally funded projects. Hence, our students gain a broad knowledge of the field and become capable research scientists.

Graduate skills and career opportunities

As with graduates in other branches of chemistry, the skills acquired during this degree programme will make you highly attractive to employers in a wide variety of areas. In addition to the pharmaceutical industry itself, business, finance, administration, publishing, and teaching are all possibilities that are open to you as a medicinal chemistry graduate. Most students progress to postgraduate studies in the School or other top tier institutions abroad.

Your degree and what you’ll study

You will study foundation courses in Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics in the first two years.

Third year

In third year, the course will provide the fundamentals of medicinal chemistry in drug design and development while maintaining overlap with the Chemistry degree, especially in the realm of organic chemistry. Lectures are complemented by laboratory experiments, where you will gain experience in more sophisticated preparative chemical techniques and will also be able to carry out your own spectroscopic analyses and computer-based modelling. You will also be able to choose up to two Trinity electives in other areas.

Fourth year

In fourth year, in addition to core chemistry modules, you will cover the medicinal chemistry of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems, combinatorial chemistry and drug delivery, as well as computational medicinal chemistry and modern analytical methods. Case studies in medicinal chemistry (focusing on specific diseases or drug types) will also feature in your programme.

Practical work in the final year will consist of a Capstone project. This may be carried out either in Trinity under the supervision of a member of staff, in a chemistry department at an overseas university, or in a commercial laboratory.

Click here for further information on modules/subjects.

Study abroad and internship opportunities

The School of Chemistry has exchange agreements with many universities and research institutions in Europe and North America where Medicinal Chemistry students carry out their final year Capstone research projects from September to December or undertake internships. Individual groups in the School offer summer internships. Further information on study abroad opportunities can be found at: www.tcd.ie/global/mobility/outbound/