Reproductive Sciences

Entry requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant biological, medicine or veterinary medicine discipline.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This one-year, full-time MSc by Research programme aims to introduce students to modern up-to-date molecular and cellular biological research in the field of reproductive sciences, reproductive health and reproductive medicine in a stimulating, challenging and vibrant research atmosphere, at the interface between basic science and clinical patient care.

The programme is intended for high-calibre students with biological science, medical or veterinary backgrounds.

The main components of the programme are two 20-week research projects, performed on a very wide range of research fields within the reproductive sciences.

Topics that can be offered include using a wide range of models and in human, studying a number of important problems associated with human reproductive health and disease in testis, ovary, the uterus during the menstrual cycle and throughout pregnancy and labour, in the fetus and neonate, and in fetal programming resulting in increased risk of chronic disease in adulthood.

The MRC Centre for Reproductive Health has arranged its research under four themes:

1. Reproductive Resilience, Proliferation, Differentiation, Repair
2. Reproductive system cancers: aetiology, pathogenesis and therapy
3. Optimising Lifelong Health Through Pregnancy and Perinatal Interventions
4. Immune-endocrine interactions in reproductive health

These theme titles illustrate some of the remarkable properties that make reproductive systems such relevant and powerful models for translational studies across a wide spectrum of human diseases and pathologies in other systems.

The MRC Centre for Reproductive Health (CRH) has close links with other internationally recognised research centres in the Queen’s Medical Research Institute QMRI and elsewhere in Edinburgh, with the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, the Veterinary School, the University of Edinburgh science campus and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

Many student projects are organised with and between these centres, reflecting the interdisciplinary research environment, where students and trainees are regarded as the ‘lifeblood’ for the future.