A year-long practical module that develops your technique in the subjects you've chosen. You'll take the laboratory blocks matching your degree (biochemistry, biomedical science, immunology, microbiology or pharmacology) across twenty three-hour sessions, each with a competency check. Workshops prepare you for the laboratory work and take you through the analysis afterwards, alongside sessions on skills that apply across every discipline.

This module covers the biochemical processes that underlie disease. You'll study the cellular signalling pathways that convert a stimulus into a cellular response, and how proteins, membranes and organelles are trafficked and secreted. The module covers molecular processes that underpin health and disease, including ageing and cellular toxicity, and the genomic basis of human disorders and how genetic testing is used. You'll also learn about the part biochemistry plays in drug discovery and development, and the effects of drugs and pollutants in the environment.

This module introduces the fundamental principles of immunology, exploring how the immune system recognises, responds to, and remembers pathogens. Students will develop an understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying innate and adaptive immune responses, immune regulation, and host defence. The module also introduces experimental approaches used to investigate immune function and incorporates skills workshops to develop scientific communication, critical analysis, and data interpretation, preparing students for further study and careers in the biological and biomedical sciences.

This module covers how microbial pathogens cause disease in humans, and how they can be identified and controlled. You will study the classification and identification of clinically important bacteria, viruses and fungi, their structure and growth, the molecular mechanisms by which they cause disease, and their epidemiology, treatment and control. Pathogens are grouped by the site of infection, so you can compare how very different organisms establish disease.

The aims of this module are to:

• introduce haematology & immunohaematology
• familiarise you with the intermediate concepts of the immune system & aspects of clinical & laboratory practice
• this will include material delivered by the Scottish Blood Transfusion service

This module helps you to develop your research skills in a capstone project. Six types of research project are available:

1. Laboratory based research
2. Data-based analysis research
3. Educational research
4. Critical analysis
5. Science communication
6. Knowledge Exchange

There will be concurrent workshops on research methods and ethics. This will reinforce and develop learning in areas such as the ethics of scientific research, statistical analysis, database searching and annotation, writing a thesis and presenting a seminar. In addition, you will choose from and attend a series of tutorials & workshops on supplementary skills topics that relate to the projects. The material will be delivered using staff/student led workshops.

The aims of this module are to:

• use your skills to critically interpret data and develop conclusions or hypotheses based upon your findings
• use your skills to analyse and present data
• gain knowledge in a key area that is relevant to your career aspirations
• have the opportunity to carry out original research

This module covers the immune responses underlying major immunological diseases and how understanding them informs treatment. You'll study autoimmunity and the breakdown of immune tolerance, the immune response to transplantation and to blood transfusion, tumour immunology and how cancers evade immune attack, hypersensitivity and allergic disease, and immunodeficiency. Throughout, you will look at how immunotherapeutic approaches are developed from an understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms.

The aims of this module are to:

• diagnose disease based on cell and molecular pathology techniques
• define the molecular basis of cell injury caused by toxic compounds and drugs
• describe the morphological changes associated with cell damage and relate this to specific disease processes
• appreciate the role of the biomedical scientist in the histopathology lab
• this includes material delivered by the NHS Biomedical Scientists and Pathologists

This module covers aspects of major organ/disease systems, with examples such as pregnancy, calcium/bone, diabetes, liver, poisoned patient, kidney, lipids, thyroid, heart and cancer within a clinical biochemistry context. Aspects of nutrition are also covered focusing on vitamins/micronutrients, obesity, and the monitoring of enteral/parenteral feeding. This module also covers point-of-care devices as an alternative to large laboratory analytical devices.

This module covers the principles of clinical microbiology: how infections are diagnosed, treated, tracked and controlled. You will study how microorganisms are identified in a clinical setting, using both genotyping and culture-based approaches, and the principles of epidemiology in infectious disease. The module covers how antimicrobial agents work and how resistance develops, including the part biofilms play, and how infection is controlled in immunocompromised patients.