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The course consists of two main parts, a theoretical component which aims to extend the students' knowledge of selected areas from the whole field of biochemistry, and a research component, which introduces them to the practice of the science of biochemistry. The research component involves the student undertaking a research project under the direct supervision of a teaching staff member.
Students undertaking BSc (Hons) take BIOC 490 Research Project as the practical part of the course. PGDipSci students may take either BIOC 480 (24 points) or BIOC 490 (48 points). Students undertaking the MSc by examination and thesis over two years, participate fully in this programme throughout their first year and take BIOC 495 for their thesis work. Masters students attend the same lectures and seminars, produce assignments, give a seminar on their work and take the same examinations as Honours or PGDipSci students. In their second year they complete their research and produce a thesis.
In the fourth year of study in either a BSc (Hons) or MSc, Tuesday and Thursday mornings are set aside for classes. The format of these sessions may vary. Typically a topic will be introduced in Session 1 by means of a lecture or lectures and a list of references given out. Generally the staff member will distribute copies of a few key reviews and research papers to all those in the class.
Session 2, a week later, usually involves selected students giving oral presentations of more focussed areas using the reference material. This is often done in groups of 2–3 with fewer than eight focussed subtopics developed. All students are expected to participate actively in the general discussion that follows the presentations.
In 2011 the topics are to be:
BIOC 451: Contemporary Technologies in Biochemistry
High throughput DNA sequencing Craig Marshall
Forensic DNA Russell Poulter
Single molecule studies of RNA polymerase Iain Lamont, Sigurd Wilbanks
Computational and structural biology Kurt Krause
BIOC 452: Metabolism and Regulation
The how and where of ubiquitylation Catherine Day
Communicating and interpreting data – Nobel prize winners 50 years apart Warren Tate
Lysosome function and disease Stephanie Hughes
Proteomics and disease Sally McCormick
Data analysis and interpretation Mik Black
BIOC 453: Molecular Biology
Discovery and functions of large non-coding RNA genes Chris Brown
Pharmacogenetics: Personalised medicine – are we there yet? Rebecca Roberts
Mitochondrial genomes Russell Poulter
BIOC 454: Cell Biology and Development
Platelet life and death Liz Ledgerwood
Chill tolerance in plants Julian Eaton-Rye
Visual phototransduction Alan Carne
Cellular engineering Mike Legge
Acquisition of experimental expertise and positive research results demands conscientious and constant application in the laboratory. Apart from study time, students are expected to spend all their working time in the laboratory. The results of scientific research are usually reported in several stages. The first aspect may be to write an application for funding which may include preliminary results. When results are obtained the researcher is likely to write a short abstract of the work and to present the detailed results verbally or in ‘poster’ form at a scientific conference. The second and final stage involves writing a full scientific paper. Students are given experience of several facets of expression, in the Research Proposal, at the Scientific Meeting in early August, and in the preparation of the Research Report or MSc thesis.