Programme aims
The overall aim of this course is to provide students with basic and advanced knowledge, and hands-on experience, in modern molecular and cellular biology-related human disease, a general knowledge of current commercial applications related to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human disease, and a broad range of generic and advanced skills.
During this course we will:
Offer students the opportunity to study Molecular Medicine and its applications within an environment informed by current research in bomedical sciences, molecular and cellular biology, genomics and bioinformatics.
Provide students with core theoretical understanding and practical / bioinformatics skills in gene and protein engineering and genome analysis.
Provide a broad overview of molecular medicine, with in-depth treatment of specialised areas such as molecular virology, human genetics, cancer biology, advanced medical microbiology and others.
Enable students to critically analyse and interpret biological data, including molecular, sequence and biochemical data using appropriate bioinformatic and statistical tools.
Encourage students to develop an appreciation of the multi-disciplinary nature of molecular medicine.
Enable students to plan and conduct a research programme in the development or application of the molecular medicine discipline.
Expose students to the business of biopharma, and provide them with practical guidance and an understanding of employment opportunities in this area.
Enable students to develop skills that will enhance and widen employment opportunities, e.g. information retrieval, evaluation and synthesis, numeracy, IT skills, presentation skills, effective working with others, complex problem solving, self-evaluation and reflection, independent-learning ability.
Allow students to develop their entrepreneurship skills.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: The role of molecular medicine in health care, industry, drug development, biomedical sciences basic and translational research.
A2: A comprehensive, systematic knowledge and understanding of selected biomedical/biopharma applications.
A3: Fundamental and advanced molecular technologies including genomics, and post-genomic methodologies and their application in molecular medicine.
A4: The importance of bioinformatics in molecular medicine as a whole.
A5: Key regulatory and ethical issues that are of central importance in molecular medicine
A6: Research-based knowledge and research methods in a specific subject area related to molecular medicine.
A7: The tools and approaches available to establish a new venture in the biopharma industry.
Learning methods
A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A7 - lectures, seminars and coursework.
A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 - analysis of papers / case studies, self-learning.
A3 and A4 - laboratory and computer practical classes.
A6 - lectures and the research project.
Assessment methods
A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A7 - coursework (essays, action plan, literature review, group project report, oral presentations).
A1, A2, A3 - examinations.
A3, A4 - laboratory reports in scientific paper format and worksheets.
A6 - scientific paper format report of the research project, oral and poster presentations.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Systematically retrieve, select and integrate a variety of advanced biomedical and molecular information.
B2: Critically evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of a range of molecular and bioinformatics methods.
B3: Analyse a given problem and propose the most appropriate approaches in molecular medicine and tools for its solution.
B4: Analyse and interpret quantitative information such as molecular data, graphs, figures, tables and apply appropriate statistical tests.
B5: Integrate and link information across course components, including material met in different years, from different disciplines and covering different scales of organisation.
B6: Review a research topic and plan and conduct a research project
Learning methods
B1, B2, B3, B5 - lectures, seminars, coursework, self-learning, practical classes and the research project.
B4 - lectures, problem sheets and practical classes, and the research project.
B6 - research project and its associated training seminars.
Assessment methods
B1, B2, B3, B5 - coursework (essays, action plan, literature review, group project report, oral presentations), and scientific paper format report of the research project.
B2, B4, B5 - examinations and scientific paper format report of the research project, oral and poster presentations.
B5, B6 - scientific paper format report of the research project, oral and poster presentations.
C: Practical skills
C1: Design, plan and carry out appropriate experiments in the laboratory effectively, working within current technical, regulatory, safety and ethical frameworks.
C2: Combine, apply and develop appropriate up-to-date biological methodologies (including bioinformatics) to address questions relevant to molecular medicine..
C3: Describe and explain the principles and limitations of a range of current molecular and analytical methodologies
C4: Work as a member of a team, contributing to the planning and competent performance of research in molecular medicine and developing a venture organisation.
C5: Explain and critically analyse how a new venutre is created and managed
Learning methods
C1 - practical classes, the research project and associated training seminars.
C2, C3 - lectures, seminars, practical classes and the research project.
C4 - practical classes and the research project.
C5 - lectures, seminars, self-learning.
Assessment methods
C1, C2 - laboratory reports in scientific paper format and as worksheets; scientific paper format report, oral presentation and poster from the research project.
C3 - laboratory reports in scientific paper format and worksheets, essays, examination.
C4 - group project report and oral presentations.
C5 - action plan, group project report and oral presentations.
D: Key skills
D1: Write clear, concise structured reports, including graphical material, describing complex and original material.
Construct well-argued and clearly presented essays and reviews; give oral and poster presentations to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
Write an in-depth review of the literature for selected topics.
Prepare a professional Curriculum Vitae.
D2: (i) Use current networked PC operating systems for normal file management,
(ii) Use current standard word-processing, spreadsheet, web browsing, web-page authoring, email and statistical packages,
(iii) Able to locate and use on-line catalogues and databases
D3: Apply appropriate advanced statistical and quantitative methods to analyse data.
Apply other advanced quantitative methods used in molecular medicine
D4: Explore, analyse and find effective solutions for problems involving moderately complex information.
D5: Work effectively as part of a team to collect data and/or to produce reports and presentations, and organise a scientific conference.
D6: Work independently, set realistic targets, plan work and time to meet targets within deadlines and evaluate and reflect on own performance, and how this can be improved to enhance employability.
Learning methods
D1 - lectures, seminars, coursework, self-learning, the research project and its associated training seminars.
D2 - lectures, seminars, coursework, self-learning, practical classes and the research project.
D3 - lectures, seminars, coursework, self-learning, practical classes and the research project.
D4 - lectures, seminars, coursework, self-learning, practical classes and the research project.
D5 - lectures, seminars, coursework, self-learning, practical classes and the research project and its associated training seminars.
D6 - seminars, coursework, self-learning, practical classes and the research project.
Assessment methods
D1 - laboratory reports in scientific paper format and as worksheets; examinations; essays; literature review group project report and oral presentations; action plans; CV; scientific paper format report, oral presentation and poster from the research project.
D2 -.laboratory reports in scientific paper format and as worksheets; examinations; group project report and oral presentations; action plans; CV; scientific paper format report, oral presentation and poster from the research project.
D3 - laboratory reports in scientific paper format and as worksheets; examinations; class tests; scientific paper format report, oral presentation and poster from the research project.
D4 - laboratory reports in scientific paper format and as worksheets; examinations; essays; literature review; group project report and oral presentations; action plans; scientific paper format report, oral presentation and poster from the research project.
D5 - group project report and oral presentations; action plans; preparation of a scientific conference.
D6 - laboratory reports in scientific paper format and as worksheets; examinations; essays; group project report and oral presentations; action plans; CV; scientific paper format report, oral presentation and poster from the research project; preparation of a scientific conference.