Master's Degree Programme in Exact Sciences: Chemistry of Drug Development
Turku, Finland
DURATION
2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
22 Jan 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 12,000 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* free for citizens of EU/EEA countries or Switzerland, for citizens of non-EU/EEA countries €12,000/academic year
Introduction
Discover all degree programmes of the University of Turku
How to find, identify, design, and target new drugs?
The Master's Degree Programme in Exact Sciences: Chemistry of Drug Development specialisation track equips you with theoretical and practical skills in drug screening, identification, design, and targeting.
The studies provide you with strong knowledge on one or more of the following topics that cover the chemistry of drug development from slightly different perspectives: bioanalytical chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, and radiopharmaceutical chemistry. In addition, you will master the state-of-the-art methods needed for the full identification of drug molecules and for their quantitation from different types of tissues and metabolite mixtures. Our approach gives you strong hands-on knowledge of medicinal chemistry since practical laboratory work forms the soul of our programme.
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Academic Excellence & Experience
Our approach to the Chemistry of Drug Development track is a unique combination of research areas that are closely related but require different types of expertise. All options are represented by well-established, top-of-the-line research groups: Bioorganic group, Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry group, Bioanalytical Chemistry together with Detection Technology group and Natural Chemistry research group.
The main target in studies of bioorganic chemistry is to master the key concepts of organic reactions, stereochemistry, and physical organic chemistry. This way you can design and execute organic syntheses and understand chemical biology. The Bioorganic group specialises in the synthesis of biopolymers (oligonucleotides, oligosaccharides, and peptides), their interaction mechanisms at the molecular level, and the application of this knowledge into solving medicinal problems.
In Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, you can specialise in radiosynthesis chemistry and applications of short-lived, isotopically labeled positron-emitting radiotracers. These tracers are used in positron emission tomography (PET) that enables imaging of biochemical processes in vivo in both healthy and pathological state. The synthesis of radiotracers involves both small molecules with low molecular weight as well as macromolecules, typically peptides, proteins, and their fragments. The teaching of radiopharmaceutical chemistry takes place in close collaboration with the Turku PET Centre, a National Institute jointly owned by the University of Turku, the Åbo Akademi University, and the Hospital District of Southwestern Finland.
Students of Bioanalytical Chemistry will learn the most prominent bioanalytical detection and separation techniques and become capable of applying the techniques to medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. You will know how to design bioanalytical assays and separation methods for the identification, quantification, and property mapping of potential drugs and target molecules – also in practice. Courses are provided by the Natural Chemistry and the Detection Technology Research Groups. The content of the courses is considered to meet the needs of neighbouring industries for bioanalytical chemistry.
The facilities of Chemistry of Drug Development are state-of-the-art. We have direct access to the Turku PET Centre's preclinical and clinical groups. The PET Centre has four cyclotrons for radionuclide production and 25 hot cells for radiotracer synthesis. At the Department of Chemistry, we have recently updated NMR facilities with modern 500 and 600 MHz magnets with cryo-probes that facilitate operation at low drug concentrations. We have direct access to UPLC-MS/MS instruments with both triple quadrupole and high-resolution mass spectrometry detectors. An efficient ECD spectrometer complements the equipment needed for the accurate identification of the produced and purified drug candidates. To know how to master this equipment and techniques is a true advantage to the chemist who graduates from our programme.
Specialisation Tracks
The Master’s Degree Programme of Exact Sciences has six tracks. You can find more detailed information on tracks from the specific site of each track by clicking on the links below.
Other tracks in the Master’s Degree Programme of Exact Sciences:
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Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Scholarship Opportunities
The University of Turku supports merited and motivated students with generous scholarships. The university offers these scholarships to students pursuing Master's level studies who are subject to tuition fees.
Scholarships are awarded based on academic excellence, and you can apply for a scholarship by simply answering “yes” to the corresponding question in the online application form when you apply for the programme.
One type of scholarship covers whole tuition fees for two years for Master’s degree programmes. In addition to that, there is a scholarship for the best applicants that covers tuition fees and includes an additional grant of €5,000.
Approximately 30 % of the admitted students are awarded a scholarship by the University of Turku.
Curriculum
Programme Structure
The specialisation track Chemistry of Drug Development is a two-year programme of 120 ECTS credits. The curriculum is comprised of:
- Core courses, 20 ECTS, and a laboratory project, 20 ECTS;
- Thematic specialisation in either Bioanalytical Chemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry or Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, 20 ECTS;
- Master’s thesis and related courses, 40 ECTS;
- Other studies including mandatory language studies and selectable studies in different thematic areas and special themes, 20 ECTS.
You will make a personal study plan which will help you select the courses that best suit your personal interests and background.
Master's Thesis & Topics
The Master’s Laboratory Project will form the basis for your master’s thesis. This laboratory project is a part of a true research project taking place in the department and made under the guidance of a supervisor. The master’s thesis will be written based on the results of the laboratory project and a review of relevant background literature.
It is possible to conduct the laboratory project at another university or in the industry.
Examples of thesis topics:
- Fluorescent oligonucleotide probes for screening high-affinity nucleobase surrogates
- Solution-phase synthesis of short oligo-2′-deoxyribonucleotides using clustered nucleosides as a soluble support
- Synthesis of 11C- and 18F-labelled radiopharmaceuticals
- New quantitation methods for and screening of anthocyanin-tannin adducts in 300 red wine varieties
- Enhancement of anthelmintic activities of plant metabolites by chemical modifications
Program Outcome
Competence Description
After completing the studies, depending on your specialisation, you will:
- know how to design and execute multistep synthesis routes to produce organic compounds;
- know the special requirements to work in the radiopharmaceutical chemistry laboratory;
- know the basics of bioimaging;
- know how to design and execute synthesis routes for compounds used in bioimaging;
- know how to isolate and purify organic compounds;
- know how to characterise structures of organic compounds;
- understand how reactivity and bioactivity is related both to the structure and reaction conditions;
- know the chemical properties, functionality, and biological significance of biopolymers and their structural units;
- know the classes of plant bioactive compounds, their biosynthesis routes, and chemical properties, and their most important structure/activity-relationships;
- be able to use and develop liquid chromatographic and mass spectrometric methods;
- know how to measure different types of bioactivities for pure compounds and compound mixtures, and to develop new types of activity methods;
- develop diagnostic and drug discovery methods for protein and cell-based targets;
- understand the basics of widely applied methods such as luminescence techniques in high throughput screening.
Career Opportunities
Job Options
Chemistry of Drug Development track has close connections to the pharma industry in the Turku region and international collaborative networks. These will provide you with opportunities to do a laboratory project in companies’ facilities or in collaboration. They may offer internships and job opportunities as well.
You will be equipped with skills that provide you with multiple career options. You will be able to join the industry in Finland or abroad, or to enter the public sector, for example, in various authoritative duties.
The studies in Chemistry of Drug Development provide excellent possibilities for a career in life sciences. For example, you can:
- continue as a postgraduate student to pursue a career as a scientist,
- work in the industry as a researcher or quality manager,
- work in a core facility management taking care of e.g. the mass spectrometers,
- work in science administration nationally or internationally,
- work in hospital research laboratories,
- be a product manager or a project coordinator.
Career in Research
The Master of Science degree completed in this programme will also qualify you for PhD studies in Turku, elsewhere in Finland, or universities worldwide.
Graduates from the programme are eligible to apply for a position in the University of Turku Graduate School (UTUGS). The Graduate School includes doctoral programmes that cover all disciplines and doctoral candidates of the University.
Together with the doctoral programmes, the Graduate School provides systematic and high-quality doctoral training. UTUGS aims to train highly qualified experts with the skills required for both professional careers in research and other positions of expertise.
Several doctoral programmes at the University of Turku are available for graduates: