Modules

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Advanced Immunology: The module focuses on molecular mechanisms by which the immune system protects the host from infectious agents. Key components of the immune system are presented and insight provided into the strategies invading pathogens use to counteract host defences.

Bioenergy & Biorefining: Students are introduced to a fast moving field of research into the development of new technologies arising from the integration of multiple disciplines that are the emerging biotechnology solutions to problems associated with a changing climate.
Biological Clocks: The module begins with the molecular mechanisms of the circadian system and moves on to clock-regulated processes in whole organisms, including their interactions with the environment and seasonality.

Dynamics of Biological Systems: The study of non-autonomous dynamical systems can shed new light on biological systems. On this module, you will learn how our understanding of cells and cellular pathways can be enhanced by considering them as entities that can change their behaviour both in space and time.

Ecology and its Applications: Students are provided with the opportunity to gain a scientific and interdisciplinary perspective of the earth and its processes, including measuring using remote sensing, changes to climate and environment and responses by habitats and species to disturbance.
Enzymology: You will become familiar with the basic methods of studying enzymes, understand the mechanisms whereby enzymes are able to catalyse reactions and appreciate how individual reactions are controlled and integrated into the metabolic pathways of the cell.
Extreme Environmental Biology: This module focuses on the way organisms have adapted to rapidly changing environments that are relevant to many areas of biology and considers how experimental approaches can be used to study very complex biological processes.

Immunology: The module provides an overview of the immune system with a focus on T cell immunity.
Integrative Neuroscience: By considering the important cellular components of the central nervous system this modules illustrates current knowledge of how these determine and contribute to the integrative function of the nervous system.

Microbial Pathogens: Students will be introduced to a range of important microparasites, the diseases they cause and the parasite-host and environmental interactions that govern their biology and approaches to control. Examples include vector-borne and/or zoonotic organisms from Mycobacterium, Trypanosomes, Plasmodium to fungi.
Molecular Endocrinology: This module provides a foundation for the further study of endocrinology at the cellular and molecular level and a firm basis for understanding normal hormonal control.

Neurobiology: This physiology module provides an overview of neurobiology and includes an introduction to the physiology of the nervous system and detailed analysis of the cell and molecular biology underlying the development and functions of the nervous system.
Neuropharmacology: Neuropharmacology is the study of how chemical agents influence bodily functions in both health and disease, and indeed how the body deals with these chemicals. The module will concentrate on the use of drug-based therapeutics in a range of human diseases and will bridge the gap between basic cell signalling, biochemistry and the complex patho-physiology and treatment of the diseases.

Oncology: Students are provided with an overview of cancer and a detailed understanding of specific aspects of its underlying causes and clinical management.

Plant Molecular Development: You will discover the complexity of the eukaryotic cell and its subcellular compartments. You will gain an overview of cell division and its underlying control process, the cell cycle, and how this responds to growth signals and death signals, resulting in cell proliferation and programmed cell death respectively.
Principles of Development: Due to our common evolutionary history all animals share most of the molecular pathways involved in development. This module studies the molecular processes underlying this development, from the fertilized egg to a fully-grown individual.
Protein Structure and Function: Basic concepts of protein structure are built upon in order to understand the structure/function relationships of proteins in terms of the chemistry of their component amino acid residues.
Protein Targeting: This module allows students to apply knowledge of molecular and cell biology gained in previous years to a research area (protein targeting) that is a field of fundamental importance in cell biology.

Science Communication: The module considers how science is communicated to different audiences and in different media. It draws out issues around science in society, for example the roles and responsibilities of scientists and journalists in communicating scientific research, public understanding of science and how science is communicated in museums, on TV and on the Internet.
Structural Molecular Biology: This module explores specific fields of interest in Structural Biology including; protein-nucleic acid interactions, protein-ligand interactions, protein folding and structure, macromolecular structures and biophysics.
Synthetic Biology: This module explores the potential of synthetic biology to revolutionize the discovery process in biology and to enable step-change advances in biotechnology, medicine, food security and the environment.

Tools for Biochemical Discovery: This module will provide an appreciation of the principles upon which key techniques in the field of biochemical discovery provide biochemical information. This includes structural techniques such as X-ray, NMR, Cryo-EM and biophysical and analytical techniques such as CD, MS, and fluorescence. In the second half of the module the scope will be widened to explain how we study biological interactions including case studies. Topics will include proteomics, high-resolution light microscopy, SPR, ITC and immunoprecipitation.

Virology: This module covers the replication strategies of important viruses, antiviral therapies, diagnosis and clinical case studies. You will learn how the medically related aspects of virology (how virus infections are diagnosed and treated) are important in combating viral disease.