Master class as a method of conducting an interactive lesson process for young researchers
In accordance with the School of Pharmacy’s Scientific Committee’s plan for the 2025-2026 academic year, a master class for young researchers on «Modern Methods of Pharmaceutical Research» was organized on June 17, 2026. Organizing master classes within the Scientific Committee is a form of interactive, hands-on training, where subject matter experts from the faculty teach participants new methodologies and the specifics of experimental data analysis. (https://pharmacy.kaznmu.edu.kz/17-%d0%b8%d1%8e%d0%bd%d1%8f-2026-%d0%b3%d0%be%d0%b4%d0%b0-%d0%bf%d1%80%d0%be%d0%b2%d0%be%d0%b4%d0%b8%d1%82%d1%81%d1%8f-%d0%bc%d0%b0%d1%81%d1%82%d0%b5%d1%80-%d0%ba%d0%bb%d0%b0%d1%81%d1%81-%d0%bd%d0%b0, lecturer Boshkayeva A.K., Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry), an interactive training format, where experts share their experience and help participants master a specific practical skill in a short time.
Practical knowledge sharing, without which researchers’ theoretical knowledge cannot be validated, is one way to enhance the research skills of young scientists, which they need to acquire.
This topic is relevant, as global practice shows that pharmaceutical research is a complex of scientific, laboratory, and clinical trials aimed at discovering, creating, and studying the safety and efficacy of new drugs, as well as improving existing dosage forms. Currently, modern pharmaceutical research has evolved from mass screening of chemical compounds to targeted therapy, personalized medicine, and automation, combining cutting-edge advances in biology, genetics, and computer technology. Pharmaceutical research is truly comprehensive and is conducted at all levels. This complex includes 3D measurements and the use of virtual screening to create new drug modifications. The drug development process begins at the molecular level and continues through large-scale observations of thousands of patients worldwide. The master class program presents the resource base of computer technologies and high-precision analytics, without which new areas of research in the search, development, and analysis of new drugs are unthinkable. Such reproducible technologies reduce the development time of new drugs and improve their efficacy and safety. The use of supercomputers and artificial intelligence is currently in demand for the rapid selection of candidate molecules and modeling their interactions with target proteins before laboratory synthesis begins.
One important area of pharmaceutical research is the synthesis of new drug compounds, the preliminary prediction of which is achieved through modeling methods. Pharmacokinetic modeling (PBPK), an abbreviation of Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetics, is a type of computer technology that predicts how a drug will be absorbed, distributed, and eliminated from the body.
Robotic systems make it possible to automatically test hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds for their biological activity in a short time. The proposed computer programs for determining biological activity, such as PASS 2022 Refined (Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances) and GUSAR 2019 (General Unrestricted Structure-Activity Relationships), which are in need of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry, are licensed programs that provide high-throughput HTS screening for pharmaceutical research to create new molecular compounds.
The program analyzes extensive, representative data sets, enabling the prediction of properties for entirely new, unsynthesized substances.
The master class is an interactive learning method where participants learn from an expert and practice skills, which is essential for professional development.
