evel: Level 2

Target Students:  Available to all students registered for Single Honours degrees in Biochemistry with or without another subject and to other students subject to approval

Taught Semesters:

Prerequisites: 

Corequisites:  None.

Summary of Content:  This module has two component halves to it, and uses membrane transporters, channels to exemplify approaches to understanding the correlation between genotype and phenotype. Transporters and channels are groups of proteins responsible for controlling the flow of substances across lipid bilayers. They are ubiquitous in biology and critical for cellular homeostasis. In humans, a large number of diseases can be traced back to defects in either transporter or channel proteins. In this module, which combines lectures, workshops and problem based learning, students would learn the basic transporter and channel biology, and then apply this knowledge to design virtual experiments, the simulated results of which would gradually reveal the molecular basis of a transporter or channel related disease. A series of “virtual experiments” are designed by students, with appropriate controls, in order to probe the function of a particular gene in a physiological condition. The results of these experiments are returned to students, who must then interpret their findings and use these to direct additional experiments. As the students progress they are required to present their data in the form of a mini-review, a research paper, and a conference-type presentation

Method and Frequency of Class:

Activities may take place every teaching week of the Semester or only in specified weeks. It is usually specified above if an activity only takes place in some weeks of a Semester

Method of Assessment: 

Convenor: 
Dr A Bennett
Dr I Kerr

Education Aims:  To show connections between genotype and phenotype, and how research into the malfunction of genes and proteins can result in better understanding of disease states. This module is designed to introduce students to the key skills of experimental design and data interpretation. These skills are employed by all research scientists, and it is the goal of the module to simulate the progress of a typical laboratory research project.