PHAR2210 Research-based assignment_2021RESEARCH-BASED ASSIGNMENT Overview This assignment is designed to provide students an opportunity to examine the latest scientific research on a topic that is related to and beyond lectures. Students will acquire skills in two areas: (1) research – conduct literature-based research to identify, evaluate and synthesize robust scientific evidence from multiple sources, and (2) written communication – summarize scientific evidence and present findings and conclusions in the form of a written report. While the assignment offers students an opportunity to revisit relevant pharmacological concepts introduced in lectures, it is primarily designed to expose students to an area of knowledge that goes beyond lectures, rather than being an exercise to memorise/regurgitate lecture contents. Task description 1. Theme The 2021 theme of the assignment is “single nucleotide polymorphism and drug action”. The significance of CYP450 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on drug metabolism is briefly examined in lectures. SNP, however, is not restricted to CYP450 enzymes. Polymorphism of other drug metabolising enzymes such as UGT and SULT, drug transporters, and receptors can also contribute to the behaviour of a drug in the human body. You are to prepare a written report on how SNP affects drug action based on your examination and analysis of the latest research. 2. Scope of assignment your assignment must be entirely related to pharmacology and evidence-based. Personal opinions, ethical and social considerations are beyond the scope. your assignment should focus on depth (e.g., consideration of one or two well-defined topics) not breadth (e.g., covers many unrelated topics, and each topic is superficially discussed). your assignment must consider how SNP of either ONE or TWO functional proteins affects drug action. If you choose two functional proteins, they must come from the same protein family. If you are not sure about your choice, you should discuss with the Unit Coordinator first. CYP2C19 is a functional protein, but you should NOT consider the entire CYP450 family UGT1A1 is a functional protein, but you should NOT consider the entire UGT family P-glycoprotein (MDR1, ABCB1) is a functional protein, but you should not consider the entire ABC family 2 adrenoceptor is a functional protein, but you should not consider the entire adrenoceptor family your assignment must only examine scientific research published between 2010 and 2021 (both inclusive). You may consider cell-based studies, animal studies, clinical trials, clinical studies, or a combination of any of these. Please refer to 4. Referencesfor further details. If the scope of the assignment is determined to be unsatisfactory, the overall mark will not exceed 50 (out of 100), subject to other requirements being met. 3. Structure The word limit for this assignment is 900-950 words, including headings/subheadings but excluding the assignment title and the reference list. The entire assignment, including the references list, must be NO MORE THAN four A4 pages. Only the first four pages will be read and marked. The Vancouver citation style is the ONLY accepted referencing style. 1 The assignment should consist of four distinct components – see below. You must include an informative heading for each of Components 2-4. Component 1 – a title that concisely and clearly summarises the key finding of the assignment Component 2 (no more than 100 words) – provide a succinct and relevant overview of the topics you are going to discuss. You may cite one or two recent review articles here. Component 3 - examine the scientific research published between 2010 and 2021 (both inclusive) and present your findings here. The use of informative subheadings is required to help readers better understand and follow the chain of thoughts (also see 7. Guide to a successful completion of the task). Component 4 (no more than 75 words) – provide a succinct summary of what has been discussed previously. You may wish to suggest future directions but this is completely optional. 4. References ALL references cited must be published between 2010 and 2021 (both inclusive). You should focus on the quality and relevance, rather than the quantity of references. Component 2 – you may cite one or two recent review articles here. Component 3 - you are required to use at least FIVE, and up to TEN primary research articlesto support the discussion here. You may cite review articles and/or case reports, but the total number of such references (termed non-primary research articles) must not exceed THREE, and they will not count towards the minimal requirement of FIVE primary research articles. Websites, textbooks, books/book chapters and theses are NOT considered as appropriate references in the context of this assignment. An example of primary research article, meta-analysis article and traditional review article is available on Blackboard. Express ideas using your own work (words, visual aids). Quotes, tables and/or figures taken directly from references will significantly reduce the quality of your assignment. The inclusion of tables/figures should only be considered when they are absolutely necessary and well justified. 5. Formatting requirements Use the structure on Page 4 to prepare your assignment. Your assignment must meet the following five formatting requirements • font - either Times New Roman or Arial • font size - 12 points • line spacing - 1.5 lines • page margin - at least 2 cm (top/bottom/left/right) • alignment - justified 6. Submission requirements It is your responsibility to ensure that a) you have selected the correct file for submission, and your submission is successful (you can view it immediately after a successful submission) b) you keep a copy of the confirmation email from Turnitin as proof of submission – this is the only piece of evidence accepted in the event of a dispute Submission is due by 11.59pm, Friday 30 April. You can resubmit your assignment BEFORE the due date, but you will only be able to submit once ON OR AFTER the due date. When submitting your assignment, enter the submission title in Turnitin as ‘protein name + student ID number’, e.g., 2 7. Guide to a successful completion of the task This research-based assignment requires you to identify, read, understand, digest, evaluate and synthesise information/evidence from multiple sources. Before you start writing the report, it is crucial that you carefully consider your choice and the scope of your assignment, as this will determine what research articles will be appropriate and relevant. It takes time to collect sufficient evidence and a few drafts to improve the quality of your submission so start early, and do not assume that you can produce an assignment of high quality in a week or so. While reading an article title and the abstract will give you a reasonably good idea of the appropriateness and relevance of this article, you are expected to gain a good understanding of the experiments and results. Write down notes in your own words as you read an article, and group these notes into sets so that you can compare and contrast ideas later. An assignment of good quality requires you to demonstrate that you have understood, evaluated and analysed evidence from multiple sources. Avoid the following strategies as they will significantly reduce the quality of your assignment. provide a list of written summary for each research article cited without any comparison or analysis consider too many (unrelated) topics, and the discussion of each topic is superficial discussion relies heavily on one article (particularly review articles) It is very important that you carefully consider how different pieces of information should be organized and integrated so as to produce a logical and coherent discussion. appropriate paragraphing must be considered so that each paragraph represents a defined discussion point, and that paragraphs flow well from one to the next. the use of informative subheadings, which summarise the topics and provide readers an idea of the discussion, is required for example, ‘CYP2C19 polymorphism strongly predicts response to Drug X in Asian populations’ is an informative subheading. On other hand, ‘CYP2C19 polymorphism’, ‘CYP2C19 and drug response’, and ‘pharmacokinetics’ are examples of poorly considered headings. |