Courses and modules

Capstone courses

PoND PhD students must complete one of two capstone courses. Course lectures will be taught live and on-line; lab sessions will be taught concurrently at UVic and at one of the Ontario/Quebec institutions for students in the west and east, respectively.

  1. Advanced Drug Delivery Systems (Lavasanifar). Advanced drug delivery systems are designed to modify different drug properties in biological systems for better function. This includes delivery systems to enhance drug solubility, biological stability, bioavailability, cell permeability and/or specificity for disease sites. This course will describe different types of advanced drug delivery systems including modified release dosage forms and targeted drug delivery systems. The background knowledge on physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of drug and delivery systems needed for their successful development will be reviewed. Emphasis will be  placed on polymer based delivery systems for therapeutic and/or diagnostic agents  classified as small molecules,  proteins, vaccines, genes and theranostics. A particular attention will be paid to the physicochemical principles behind the development of different  delivery systems, their biological fate and application.

  2. Nanomedicine and Nanomaterials for Imaging (Fortin). Nanomaterials have entered the field of medicine. They are used in a variety of biomedical applications, in particular in biomedical imaging. For instance, gold nanoparticles generate contrast in computed X-ray tomography, whereas iron oxide nanoparticles are frequently used as contrast media in magnetic resonance imaging. Nanoparticles are also being developed to deliver therapeutic treatments (radiotherapy, drug or gene delivery, etc). This course builds on the selection of the main classes of materials that are used as probes and contrast agents in biomedical imaging. A strong focus is put on the synthesis and characterisation of metal-based nanoparticles and inorganic/hybrid materials, in order to better understand their performance as contrast agents and imaging probes in MRI, CT, and nuclear medicine. 

Training modules

PoND Masters and PhD students must complete three out of the pool of five modules. Lectures will be taught live and on-line; lab sessions will be taught concurrently at UVic and other institutions.

  1. Imaging Methods for Cancer Treatment (Bazalova-Carter). This module will cover the main anatomical and functional imaging methods for cancer treatment of laboratory small animals. The topics will include computed tomography (CT) with its novel applications in combinations with nanoparticle injection (dual-energy CT, x-ray fluorescence CT, x-ray luminescence CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), single-photon emission CT (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), and bioluminescence imaging (BLI). The basic physical principles of all imaging methods will be explained, their advantages and limitations highlighted, and practical applications discussed. In addition, a laboratory in microCT imaging demonstrating its strengths and weaknesses will be offered.

  2. Fluorescence Methods for Characterizing Molecular Dynamics in Drug Delivery (Bohne). Fluorescence is a method of choice for many applications because of its sensitivity, where detection at a single molecule level is possible. This module will cover the theoretical background for steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements including anisotropy measurements. These fluorescence techniques can be used to differentiate between different environments based on polarity, rigidity and specific interactions such as hydrogen bonding. 1/3 of the module will be in the lab to familiarize students with the capabilities of fluorescence experiments. Experimental pitfalls will be discussed as well as applications to drug delivery systems.

  3. Manufacturing and Characterizing Polymer Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery (Moffitt). This module will cover representative strategies for manufacturing polymeric nanoparticles of controlled size and morphology, including block copolymer self-assembly, micro-precipitation, and emulsion polymerization, along with methods for incorporating hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs into these systems for nanomedicine applications. Advantages and challenges of “lab-on-a-chip” microfluidic mixing strategies for drug delivery nanoparticle manufacturing will be discussed along with a comparison of different microfluidic reactor designs. Methods for sizing and structural characterization, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) will be covered, along with analytical methods for characterizing drug loading efficiency and release profiles.

  4. Polymer Synthesis for Drug Delivery (Oh). This module will describe methods of synthesis for polymers used in drug delivery, including step-growth and chain-growth polymerization, living anionic and cationic polymerization, as well as modern controlled/living radical polymerization and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Further, the synthesis and self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers for drug delivery applications will be discussed.

  5. Cell-Based Assays for Drug and Drug Delivery Candidates (Wulff). This module will cover the fundamentals of using cell-based measurements to characterize the biological properties of drug candidates (including small molecules, biologics, polymers and nanoparticles). Emphasis will be placed on the practical aspects of carrying out these experiments, and much of the instructional time will be devoted to laboratory work in a tissue culture hood. Desirable properties and benchmarks for transitioning drug candidates to animal-based assays will also be discussed.