“The Future of Medicine – Pharmacogenomics,” an online course on this emergent area of medicine, has been launched on Web sites offered by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the Federal Drug and Administration.

The course was launched in an effort to provide a basic overview and a dozen in-depth modules targeting current medical and pharmacy students as well as postdoctoral fellows.

The USC School of Pharmacy played a pivotal role in developing the course. Professor Gilbert J. Burckart, holder of the Hygeia Centennial Chair in Clinical Pharmacy, organized the course along with FDA staff members; Felix Frueh, associate director of genomics; and Federico Goodsaid, senior staff scientist in the Office of Translational Science.

According to Burckart, “Pharmacogenomics is therapeutic drug monitoring. It’s the way we’ll determine what drugs to use and how to better monitor them. This course provides a way for current practitioners and the next generation of clinicians and researchers to become familiar with the topic and its applications.”

Burckart, who worked on this project during a recent sabbatical at the FDA, involved many colleagues at the School of Pharmacy in the project modules. While the entire course provides a thorough handling of the topic, each module also works as a stand-alone chapter.

Although the course just launched earlier this month, Burckart reported that “initial reaction has been very positive, with colleagues around the globe already accessing the information.”

The field of pharmacogenomics offers a new way of diagnosing and treating patients by looking at each patient’s genetic make up to determine the best course of treatment.

The USC course is structured in a way that allows experts to look at pharmacogenetics as it relates to specific categories of drugs. School of Pharmacy faculty include assistant professor Susie Park discussing the central nervous system drugs; assistant professor Tien Ng on cardiovascular agents; associate professor Stan Louie looking into anti-infective drugs; and associate professor Paul Beringer reviewing the impact of pharmacogenomics on pulmonary drugs.

Ian Hutchinson, professor at both the School of Pharmacy and the Keck School of Medicine of USC, presents an overview of drug targets, with a focus on the immune and inflammatory system. Also in the program is Keck School associate professor Richard Watanabe, who discusses biostatistical approaches and Web resources for analysis of pharmacogenomic information.

Burckart, along with FDA colleague Lawrence Lesko, presents the introductory module to the course. In addition, he presents a module on pharmacogenomics and organ transplantation.

The course is free and accessible at http://www.accp1.org/~user/index.html

Support for the course was provided by GlaxoSmithKline and Third Wave Technologies.