Welcome
This course is a free, online, asynchronous lecture series available to participants around the world. The course covers the fundamentals of clinical pharmacology as a translational scientific discipline grounded in pharmacokinetics and core pharmacologic principles. It emphasizes key concepts in pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism and transport, drug therapy in special populations, pharmacogenomics, and drug discovery and development. The course is designed for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, medical and pharmacy students, scientists, and health professionals seeking to strengthen their understanding of pharmacologic principles.
| Registration is currently closed. Information about the upcoming 2026-2027 course year is coming soon. |
| Register | 9/2/2025 – 6/26/2026 (12PM US ET) |
| Course Access | 9/2/2025 – 7/31/2026 |
| Final Exam Deadline | 7/16/2026 (12 PM US ET) |
Course Objectives
- Describe the major phases of pharmacokinetics including drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.
- Explain the impact of age, pregnancy, disease, and genetics on pharmacokinetics.
- Apply pharmacodynamic and quantitative approaches to the assessment of drug effects.
- Describe the key principles of the drug discovery and development process, from compound screening to first-in-human studies.
General Information
- This online course is offered annually at no cost. After registering, participants may begin their study immediately.
- The course is divided into 7 modules, each with a brief introductory video. Divided amongst the modules are 48 pre-recorded core lectures which are each associated with a case study or post-lecture activity.
- There is an online final exam, which consists of 25-50 multiple choice questions. Participants are permitted to use course materials during the final exam.
- A Certificate of Completion is awarded to each registered participant who achieves a score of 70% or higher on the final exam.
- There is no academic or continuing medical education (CME) credit offered for this course.
- Only registered participants are allowed to take the final exam and receive a certificate of completion. However, if you do not wish to enroll in the course, you can still view the individual course lectures through the NIH PCP YouTube Playlist or by searching for 'Principles of Clinical Pharmacology' in the NIH VideoCast Past Events website. Please refer to the course syllabus for the order of lectures.
There is no required textbook for this course. For participants interested in additional learning, the Atkinson's Principles of Clinical Pharmacology 4th edition book edited by Shiew-Mei Huang, Juan J.L. Lertora, Paolo Vicini, and Arthur J. Atkinson, Jr. is available through most online bookstores.
Course Directors
