Biomedical Science

Tailor your MSc training by choosing a specialist pathway in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, or Cell Biology and Drug Development, ready to make a difference across biomedicine in academia, healthcare and industry.

Course description

Biomedical science research aims to understand how the human body functions in health and disease, allowing scientists to develop treatments that can improve and save lives.

This MSc allows you to choose from one of two specialist pathways so you can gain core knowledge and practical skills in the area of cutting-edge biomedicine that most interests you.

If you choose our Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine pathway you’ll be trained how to culture, manipulate and analyse human stem cells, learning directly from our experts in the Centre for Stem Cell Biology. You’ll get the chance to master techniques such as stem cell and 3D organoid cultures, manipulation of animal models used to study human disease, in-situ hybridisation and fluorescence microscopy.

Our Cell Biology and Drug Development pathway will allow you to explore cell and animal models and cutting-edge techniques used in the drug discovery industry. Through hands-on training, you’ll develop real-world skills from robotics and automation to cell culture, biomedical assays and high throughput drug screening.

No matter which pathway you choose, you’ll also study lecture modules, giving you a deep understanding of the core concepts underpinning the pharmaceutical industry. You’ll develop your scientific, analytical, and critical thinking skills during your core modules, too. We’ll teach you how to present your science in writing and other media, use R statistical analysis software, critically interpret scientific literature, and manage your own research project.

The biggest part of the course is your research project where you’ll spend up to five months embedded in one of our research laboratories. You'll be working closely with our academics and scientists, using our state-of-the-art facilities to perform your own biomedicine research. These facilities include light microscopy and electron microscopy, purpose-built zebrafish, mouse and fly facilities, and proteomics and single cell omics facilities. Our Bateson Centre also allows us to study model organisms, enabling researchers to understand human disease pathways at the physiological and molecular level.

Example past research projects include:

Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine pathway:

• Characterization of subpopulations of otic progenitors derived from human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs)
• The mechanisms of genetic changes in human pluripotent stem cells
• Patched 1 function in skeletal muscle stem cells and its implication in muscle wasting

Cell Biology and Drug Delivery pathway:

• Differentiation of a new neuronal cell line into a nociceptive phenotype for use in pain and pharmaceutical research
• Targeting Cancer with novel targeting therapeutics
• Immunosenescence: a novel mechanism by which pathogenic bacteria evade innate immunity