Course Summary

Expiration Date: 08/13/2029

Respiratory pharmacology is fundamentally influenced by airway anatomy, physiologic function, and site-specific drug delivery. This course reviews the structural and functional organization of the airways, from the conducting airways to the alveolar region, and examines how these characteristics shape pharmacologic targeting, drug deposition, and clinical response. Emphasis is placed on airway smooth muscle, parasympathetic tone, epithelial and immune signaling, and the accessibility of small airways, providing a mechanism-based framework for understanding respiratory drug therapy and organizing respiratory disease by physiologic phenotype.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Conducting Airways: Structure, Function, and Targetable Processes
    • Airway Smooth Muscle as a Pharmacologic Target
    • Small Airways and Distal Lung Units: Target Accessibility
    • Alveolar and Parenchymal Targets
    • Airway Epithelium as a Regulatory Interface
    • Immune and Inflammatory Targets in the Airway
    • Integrated Classification of Airway Targets
    • Integration of Anatomy and Target Selection
  • Organizing Respiratory Disease by Physiologic Phenotype
  • Summary

Authors

Richard Daniels, PharmD, BCPS

Richard “Cole” Daniels earned his Doctor of Pharmacy(PharmD) from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of Montana in 2018. Throughout pharmacy school he completed a 3-year internship at Community Medical Center in Missoula, Montana in which he gained valuable experience in an acute care setting. Cole currently serves as a psychiatric clinical staff pharmacist at the Montana State Hospital. He has over 11 years of pharmacy experience having worked in several settings including retail, acute care, and inpatient psychiatric care. Cole has a diverse set of interests. However, acute care medicine, infectious disease, pain management, and asthma/COPD are a primary focus of his at the Montana State Hospital. He obtained board certification as a certified pharmacotherapy specialist in the Spring of 2022.

Elisabeth Gordon, BScPharm, RPh

Elisabeth Gordon earned her BSc(Pharm) from the University of British Columbia in 2004. After graduation, she worked in community retail pharmacies on Vancouver Island, before returning to her rural hometown of Salmon Arm. In 2016 and 2017, Elisabeth trained with Pallium Canada and Victoria Hospice to enhance her knowledge of end-of-life-care and palliative services. She is a volunteer medical supervisor for T1DOutreach, a peer support platform for adults living with type 1 diabetes, and a member of a Canadian peer support group for adults living with Birdshot Uveitis. Elisabeth enjoys working in a small, fast-paced rural pharmacy where she brings compassion and empathy to her everyday practice.