UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

Biomedical & Life Sciences

Master of Research in Biomedical Sciences


Course Description

The Master of Research in Biomedical Sciences offers 6 month (Dip.Res) or 12 month (MRes) research training which is centred on laboratories in the Faculty of Biomedical & Life Sciences (FBLS), which includes all the biological and non-clinical medical disciplines in the University of Glasgow. The course draws on the research expertise of a large number of staff within FBLS from the Divisions of Infection and Immunity, Integrated Biology and Molecular & Cellular Biology, but also includes staff in other Faculties such as Medicine and Veterinary. Medicine, and at other local institutions, such as the Beatson Cancer Research Institute in Glasgow, and some departments of Strathclyde University, allowing the student the chance to obtain experience in a wide range of modern research techniques.

The course is mainly intended to provide a training for students who hope to enter a PhD programme in these areas, but who feel that their practical research experience is inadequate (about 50% of recent MRes graduates have gone on to a PhD). The course will provide an excellent training for those wishing to enter the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries. It should also serve as an excellent introduction to research in the UK for overseas students intending to proceed to a PhD in this country, some of whom may want only the Diploma level of pass.

The course runs for up to 52 weeks, (for the full Masters level) starting in mid September, and consists of a formal taught component and research projects in individual laboratories. The formal section consists of a mandatory course covering topics such as laboratory safety, radio-isotope procedures, experimental design, statistics and IT skills. In addition, the student is expected to take part in two advanced modules based on small group teaching.


The main part of the degree, however, is devoted to actual experience of research techniques. The student will carry out one (Diploma) or two (Masters) 20-week research projects with individual laboratory placements chosen to reflect their interests and the skills they wish to acquire. After each project, the participant will write a scientific report. It is hoped that the longer projects will allow real scientific progress to be made by each student.

The Dip/MRes group meets on a regular basis to allow the students to make brief oral presentations of their work. This is considered to be a vital part of the training of postgraduate students. Care is taken to ensure that overseas students have full access to training in the use of written and spoken English.

Students from EU countries (including the UK) will have the possibility of doing one of their projects in another European university under the SOCRATES (ERASMUS) exchange scheme. FBLS is in a network of about 20 such universities in 10 countries from Finland to Italy. There are also a few "industrial" placements available.

A feature of the course is that students are encouraged to tailor the course to their own specific requirements and interests, within the limitations of the courses and projects offered.


Assessment

Some parts of the Introductory Course (e.g. Radio-Isotopes) will be assessed by a brief written exam. Oral presentation will also be assessed. Each Advanced Module will be assessed by means of an essay, paper analysis or poster presentation as appropriate. The main component of assessment is based on the research projects and reports. Each report is examined by means of a brief interview. 66% of the total final assessment come from the laboratory projects.

Possibility of "designated" MRes Degrees

Students doing the MRes in Biomedical and Life Sciences have the option of either:

  1. having a wide choice of the Options and research projects (subject to supervisor availability), and of graduating with the standard degree title above, or
  2. they can choose a specialisation which will inevitably restrict their choice of both projects and Option courses

The designated areas currently on offer are:

  • Anatomy
  • Biotechnology
  • Cell Engineering
  • Infection and Immunity
  • Integrative Mammalian Biology
  • Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • Molecular Genetics
  • Neuroscience

Students wishing to specialise in this way, will have to do two projects and one Module from the designated areas. They will finally graduate with, for example, "MRes Biomedical and Life Sciences (Infection and Immunity)". The numbers taking the possible specialisations will be limited by the availability of teaching resources, and the course organisers may have to restrict the numbers in some areas. However there is no pressure on students to specialise if they don't want to and many choose not to.


Projects previously undertaken by students

  • Two-photon fluorescence excitation of voltage- and calcium-sensitive dye
  • Virulence factors in clinical strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae
  • Inhibitory hippocampal interneurons
  • Role of Clp1p and Plo1p mutants in M/G1 transcription in Schizosaccharomyces pombe
  • Characterisation of Epstein Barr Virus Early RNA -1
  • Characterization of interaction between insulator binding protein Vezf1 and other protein
  • Investigations into the regulation of SOCS3 promoter by cyclic AMP
  • The muscular and fibrous tissues of the bladder neck and urethra
  • EBNA-1: Exploring the insertion site
  • Designing zinc finger nucleases against globin gene regulatory elements
  • Effect of antioxidant Succinobucol on platelet aggregation
  • Characterisation of two NAD-dependent histone deacetylase knockout mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana
  • Analysing the function of the YidC insertase of the E.coli inner membrane
  • Pathfinder cells and neuronal differentiation
  • Regulation of M/G1 phase gene expression by Mid1p.
  • The anatomy of triquetrum-hamate joint.

Winter Graduation 2009

Staff and students from the MRes in Biomedical Sciences programme, Graduation 2009