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Full Year

Biomedical Sciences 3 (BIME09008)

Subject

Biomedical Sciences

College

MVM

Credits

40

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

N/A

Course Summary

The course will attempt to develop students' understanding of how current biomedical knowledge is generated from experiment and disseminated through the research literature, to prepare students for the transition to senior Honours. It aims to provide students with a secure grounding in the core skills of understanding scientifically valid experiments, collecting, analysing and interpreting data, communicating scientific ideas and results, and in being able to critically evaluate primary research papers. It will cover a variety of experimental approaches commonly used in the biomedical sciences, so that students have an appreciation of when such approaches can be used, their strengths and weaknesses, and the type of data they produce. Broad themes within contemporary biomedical sciences and the power of interdisciplinary approaches will be dealt with.Teaching will be through a combination of lectures, a practical (wet lab), workshops (dry lab), and tutorials. Each practical and tutorial will be linked to associated material covered in the lecture series. A variety of in-course assessments (in both semesters) will give an opportunity to students to assess their understanding of material and to receive both formative and summative feedback.

Course Description

Lectures In broad terms, the first semester focuses on how researchers obtain, analyse and evaluate data in the field of biomedical sciences, and the second semester focuses more on contemporary applications.Understanding and evaluating research papers Two lectures in Semester 1 focusing on the research literature, peer review, and how to quickly assimilate key points of a paper, plus evaluation of papers. This topics also reinforced in tutorials. Data analysis Nine lectures in Semester 1 on data handling, statistical analysis (use and misuse), and formal hypothesis testing. The coverage of these topics in lectures is complemented by work in the practical and workshops. Assessment of this learning outcome will be tested in ICA and the December exam.Different ways to tackle a problem Two lectures in Semester 1 in which hypothesis free and hypotheses driven approaches to tackling biomedical research are discussed.Contemporary themes in the biomedical sciences A series of lectures in Semester 2 covering a broad range of topics in the biomedical sciences. During these lectures the impact of technological innovations and seminal observations will be discussed. This learning outcome will be tested in the May exam.The practical and some of the workshops are preceded by an Introductory lecture.Practicals and WorkshopsPractical 1 (Sem.1) (Wet Laboratory). Genes and Transgenic miceStudying gene function using a transgenic mouse model. Hypothesis testing, quantitative analysis, and data presentation and interpretation linked to an ICA practical report.Workshop 1 (Sem 1) (Dry Laboratory): Analysing data with R.Workshop 2 (Sem 1) (Dry Laboratory): Additional data analysis skills.Workshop 3 (Sem 2) (Dry Laboratory): Bioinformatics - Gene Data-Mining Workshop 4 (Sem.2) ((Dry Laboratory) Simulation Models of Neuroendocrine FunctionObtaining data from a simulation model of the pituitary, formulating and testing hypotheses.TutorialsTwo tutorials in semester 1 will focus on training in reading and evaluating research papers. The papers used will be common to the whole class. Assessment of this learning outcome will then be tested in a December exam, based on a paper that will be provided to the class several weeks beforehand. Questions will address issues of experimental design, choice of techniques, hypotheses, statistical analysis, and interpretation.Three tutorials in semester 2 are tightly linked to an ICA essay reviewing a recent primary research paper linked to the student's chosen honours discipline. Papers will be specific to different tutor groups. Tutorials are designed to aid understanding the paper, guide on how to produce the essay, and provide formative and summative feedback.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 50%, Coursework 50%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Assessment Information

Assesssment:ExamsDecember exam: 25% of courseMay exam: 25% of courseICA ElementsData analysis ICA: 10%Practical Report: 15%ICA essay: 25%

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