In Year Three, the key clinical science
topics remain shared across all courses,
but further distinction between the
courses also becomes apparent. This
results in there being fewer shared
modules. Year Four modules differ for all
the degrees, either in the module itself or
the topic choice within the module.
Our courses are truly international, with
students coming from many countries
across the globe. The opportunity to
study alongside students from different
countries certainly broadens the whole
student experience.
Our proximity to Edinburgh positions us
close to many of the leading players in
the contract research and
pharmaceutical research areas, as well
as many large companies and industry.
Our approach to learning and teaching
Our innovative approach to learning and
teaching includes not only the more
traditional approaches of lectures and
tutorials, but also, importantly for such
biological sciences courses, numerous
laboratory practicals throughout the
course. In addition to these more typical
approaches we also utilise
communication/IT workshops, self-study
learning packs, group and individual
projects, problem-solving exercises and
case studies. As a student moves
through their course, the use of didactic
lectures will gradually decrease and be
replaced by more student-centred and
student-driven approaches. This change
in emphasis is mirrored by the move
from textbooks as course materials, to a
more significant use of primary research,
journal articles and government
legislation and guideline documents.
more alternative approaches. These
include written assignments, individual
and group presentations, laboratory and
project reports, short tests (multiple
choice questions, short answer formats
etc) and oral examinations. Overall,
assessment is less exam-based in later
years.
Research
The staff involved in teaching the
biological sciences courses are heavily
involved in research into issues related to
nutrition and health. Most academic staff
are research active and at any given time
we have a number of PhD students. Our
research is aimed at establishing sound
evidence on which to base strategies for
improving health, in the context of both
treatment and prevention, and draws on
expertise in pharmacology, physiology,
biochemistry and nutrition. Our academic
staff and PhD students are involved in
the research in the areas of clinical
nutrition, metabolism, public health
nutrition, microbiology, immunology, food
choice, food and drink as vehicles for
essential and non-essential nutrients,
and the impact these components have
on health, wellbeing, and management
of disease. This focus on research links
in with all of our teaching, particularly in
Years Three and Four, and ensures that
the content of our courses is both
relevant and current.
A key part of any course is assessment
and to this end we try to use a balanced
range of approaches. We feel that there
is a place for the more traditional
examination format, alongside some
61
Suzanne Zaremba
BSc (Hons) Applied
Pharmacology graduate
“I have always had a keen interest
in science and how the human
body functions in both healthy
and diseased states.
“As the end of my degree
approached, I considered my
options. As part of my honours
project, I researched the effects of
a food supplement upon the
vascular system. This sparked an
interest in nutrition and the
concept of functional foods and I
decided to study for a MSc Public
Health Nutrition.
“Having enjoyed laboratory work
and undertaken research projects,
I then decided to do a PhD to
develop my existing skills, as well
as learning new skills to allow me
to be a fully independent
researcher in the area of nutrition.
QMU was offering studentships
for various topics of research and
I applied for a place. Between
finishing my master’s degree and
starting my PhD, I gained
hands-on experience working as
a research assistant for QMU’s
knowledge exchange programme.
Here, I further developed my
laboratory skills in addition to
learning new techniques such as
antioxidant analysis and cognitive
function testing.”