Unit name | Cell Biology of Development and Disease |
---|---|
Unit code | BIOCM0019 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Professor. Stephens |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
Advanced Cell Biology BIOC30601 The Dynamic Proteome BIOC30604 Cellular Information BIOC30602 Advanced Options in Biochemistry BIOC30600, Research and Communication Skills BIOC30001, Research Training BIOC30002 |
Co-requisites |
All Year 4 units within the MSci |
School/department | School of Biochemistry |
Faculty | Faculty of Life Sciences |
This unit will build on the previous three years of fundamental cell biology teaching focussing on two advanced topics with obvious parallels: developmental and cancer biology. Developmental biology is directed by highly regulated cell:cell communication to build embryonic tissues, whilst cancer is driven mis-regulation of many of these same signals leading to neoplastic cell initiation, progression and metastasis. Students will take a case-based approach to the investigation of topics and will develop an in-depth understanding of the techniques and approaches used to solve novel research problems in biochemistry.
Students will cover two main areas:
Each topic will be covered over a 3 week period and students will be expected to attend keynote lectures before being set a series of recent research papers to read and synthesize. They will be given opportunities to discuss and consolidate their knowledge through workshops and plenary lectures.
Over the course of the unit students will be expected to
Students will be able to:
Lectures and workshops
For learning (formative)
Workshop participation
Mock exam question sessions
Of learning (summative)
Written exam (60%): a 3 hour exam consisting of literature comprehension/data handling questions based on prior reading plus unseen short answers
Coursework (40%):
Reviews and articles from the primary scientific Literature