MPhil in Molecular Mechanisms of Human Disease

Through the taught elements which include ~60 hours of lectures and modules on biostatistics along with lab-based research, the course will enable students to gain practical research skills and new specialist knowledge that may be essential to achieving a career in biomedical research. Its main aims are:

•to expand and enhance the student’s knowledge of biomedical research; the model systems, the tools, techniques and approaches employed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of human disease and learn how new treatments are developed and new drugs reach patients; and

•to provide students with an opportunity to undertake a focused project in a lab carrying out cutting-edge research into the molecular mechanisms of human disease.

The course is designed from the perspective of the patient, and follows a track from disease diagnosis and identification, to the lab, and then to the various molecular mechanisms of disease classified by the nature of the disfunction, and then back to the patient with a look at potential therapeutics. 

Students will be able to:  

• critically analyse research literature and contemporary topics in the areas of their specialisation, and present such analyses in written and oral formats;  

• explain the importance and impact of topics in their area of specialisation to specialist and non-specialist audiences;  

• demonstrate proficiency in experimental and data analysis techniques;  

• demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving approaches to experimental data;  

• participate in scientific discourse by discussion, with peers and other scientists, of literature and controversies in the field and of data collected in their research project.