Biomedical Science – Reproduction and Development

To be considered for this course, you will need to:

• meet the entry criteria

• write a personal statement

• provide two suitable references.

The MRes is made up of 180 credits. All modules are compulsory and have been designed to equip you with essential skills and knowledge to conduct high quality biomedical science research and gain a detailed insight into your chosen specialism.

St George’s gives you the opportunity to undertake a nine-month research project in your chosen specialism. This will give you time to immerse yourself in detailed research, generating high quality data that could be impactful enough for publication and has led to many exciting discoveries and important breakthroughs.

This pathway takes advantage of the active research taking place within St George’s Cell Biology and Genetics Research Centre. Our researchers employ a wide range of approaches in vitro and in vivo to gain a mechanistic understanding of cellular processes, diseases and factors that occur during preconception and in utero development. You will learn not only to investigate the many causes of reproductive decisions, pregnancy outcomes and child health, and their impact, but also how to develop new clinical innovations to improve the outcomes at each stage.

Core modules

At St George’s, you will benefit from working as part of a small, close-knit team. Students, clinicians and researchers work happily and effectively together, and you will be welcomed into our small specialist research community, with all the advantages that brings for personal input and development.

During the first term you will meet potential supervisors to familiarise yourself with the research activity within each pathway and to identify an appropriate project. Project titles and areas for research will be identified by module leaders and will relate to the pathway selected. Broadly speaking, your topic should be within the fields of biomedical sciences, healthcare, or health services and use appropriate scientific methods. You will choose your research project and start with laboratory work from mid-October, completing your research by the following August.

Teaching for core modules is concentrated in the autumn term, while teaching for specialist modules takes place over the year. Throughout this time, you will either be attending lectures or laboratory sessions on most days of the week.

Teaching is delivered through a variety of methods, such as lectures, course-specific seminars and small group sessions. You will also participate in self-directed study and wider reading, as well as individual and group practical sessions. The self-directed component of your course includes the in-depth study of an area of interest, developing research and presentation skills, and gaining insight into possible careers.

If you want to pursue a career in biomedical research – whether in academia, industry or government – our course provides a solid foundation which can accelerate your career. On completion, you will be equipped with practical research-based training and skills to plan, conduct, publish and obtain funding for successful research, all vital for career progression.

The depth and quality of the academic research that you will undertake on your nine-month project will provide you with significant research skills and experience, putting you in a good position to apply for a PhD, which many of our students choose to do.

Transferrable skills in critical thinking, communication skills, time management, planning and logistics and data analysis make you well-equipped for a wide range of careers outside the lab, such as medical writing, biomedical marketing, health communication or teaching.

Many St George’s graduates have gone on to work in a variety of exciting and fulfilling careers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnical Industries. They have found work with contract research organisations like Immunocore company in Cambridge and academic institutions, such as Imperial College London, the University of Birmingham and here at St George’s. Roughly one in 10 go on to apply for graduate entry medicine.

If you are interested in a career as a biomedical/healthcare scientist in the NHS, you can undertake the NHS Scientist Training Programme following graduation.

Facilities

St George’s is the only UK university based on a hospital site, St George’s Hospital, which is where the Channel 4 television series 24 hours in A&E is filmed. We offer a unique opportunity to study and work alongside the full range of clinical professionals and their patients. Based in the thriving multi-cultural hub of Tooting in South West London, our location has the added advantage of being just a short tube ride from Central London and all the city lifestyle has to offer.

We also have a range of specialist health and academic facilities to support your learning, listed below. 

Laboratories

Our teaching laboratories are fully fitted with equipment for biological, chemistry, biomedical, molecular biology and pharmacy practicals. This includes microscopes, spectrophotometers, DMA amplifiers, organ baths and specialist glassware. We also have audio visual equipment installed, so that microscope images can be projected on to large screens. Furthermore, the students will have on their disposal tissue culture facilities, flow cytometry, use of pathogen containment facilities and well animal research facilities.

Image Resource Facility (IRF)

First established in 1979, the IRF has developed to encompass Light Microscopy, Electron Microscopy, and sample preparation for both, all housed in a single department providing a range of imaging analysis options and the expertise to compliment them. Users of the IRF have the ability to image histology samples, cells and molecules of all varieties, and model organisms such as zebrafish using any of the light microscope, slide scanning, or electron microscope systems we maintain, supported by experienced staff at all stages of analysis.

Dissection room

The dissection room is where present and future healthcare professionals and scientists in the hospital and University learn or refresh their anatomy knowledge directly from the human body, through access to cadaveric material and models, and plastinated (preserved) specimens.

Pathology museum

Our on-site museum houses a collection of over 2,000 pathological specimens, including a number of original specimens donated by Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie in 1843. This space is used for small group tutorials by students across all of our courses as an educational tool to help you understand the mechanisms of disease.

Library and learning technology

Our modern health sciences library offers a wide range of books, e-books, academic journals and other resources to support you. You will also have access to online resources, such as the Canvas virtual learning environment

and our Hunter discovery service to help you find the information you need. The library is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and comprises silent, quiet and group learning areas, as well as four group discussion rooms.

IT facilities

We have five computer suites housing 260 workstations. Three of these suites are accessible 24 hours a day. It’s easy to find a free space with our handy real-time computer locator. We also have 75 self-service laptops available. Free Wi-Fi covers the whole campus, including all accommodation. You can use these resources to access your course materials, discussion boards and feedback through Canvas.

How to apply

Before beginning your application please check the entry criteria of the course you wish to study to ensure you meet the required standards.

Applications must be submitted through our online application system, which you can access below. 

We have been working hard to find ways to teach your courses without disruption, while keeping our staff and students safe and making sure we follow government guidance on Covid-19. We won’t be making any significant changes to the content of our programmes, but there will be some changes to the way they are delivered. Please see below for further details of how this may affect this course.

If government advice changes, we may need to update our plans. If we do so, we will update this information, and will keep current students and offer holders informed by email.

We will also continue to update our frequently asked questions page for applicants and offer holders as more information becomes available.

Course content

We are not making any significant changes to the content of the Biomedical Science MRes programme.

There is a possibility that government advice on social distancing may change in the future and this may restrict access to the campus. Even if this were to be the case, we expect to be able to continue to deliver the core modules of the programme, while the project module may be altered to include more theoretical analysis and less laboratory-generated data.

Supporting vulnerable students

Students considered to be most at risk from Covid-19 should work at home wherever possible in line with government advice. Students who are going on placement will be required to complete an individual risk assessment and others may choose to do so. In addition, students from vulnerable groups, including care leavers, students estranged from their families and students with disabilities, are prioritised for help from the University’s Hardship Funds and for accommodation in Horton Halls. Priority for loans of laptops from the University will be given to those eligible to receive a hardship grant; those registered as disabled, care leavers or with caring responsibilities; and international students who may have difficulty sourcing an appropriate device on arrival in the UK.

We recognise the impact that the current circumstances may have on mental health and have expanded our counselling provision, offering remote appointments to any student. In addition, every student will be allocated a personal tutor to offer individual pastoral and academic support from the start of their studies. (Further information about health and wellbeing advice during Covid-19 is available here.)

Priority consideration has been given to support for students with disabilities when accessing teaching and learning online, through the provision of automatic live captioning and British Sign Language within our primary technologies of Panopto, MS Teams and Big Blue Button. These can benefit a range of students, especially those who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as students with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC), memory processing issues, and for whom English is an additional language.

Human-level captioning is also available where a need has been established through the Disability Advisory team. Human-level captioning requests are processed by the Learning Technology Services (LTS) section and can be requested by email to lts@sgul.ac.uk.  

How the course will be delivered

The existing learning outcomes for our modules and courses will remain in place. From September to December 2020 all students will primarily access their learning, including learning materials, via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Canvas. Hands-on practical teaching and learning activities will be delivered on campus with appropriate social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) measures put in place, and with controls on the number of people in each location.

The online components of the course will be designed to balance interactive real-time sessions with lecturers and other students, with self-paced independent study. Students will have clear learning pathways through the activities they are expected to engage with, and there will be opportunities to check learning and progress.

Personal tutor support and all other student support, such as the Academic Success Centre, will also be online for this period, using a range of methods for staying in touch, such as telephone, email and the University’s web conferencing systems BigBlueButton and MSTeams.  

Pending Health Education England (HEE) approval, placements are currently expected to resume from September 2020 with minimum changes to planned delivery or timings. All students on placement will be expected to undertake a risk assessment and adhere to local Trust working patterns and guidance.   

To get the most from online study, hardware requirements have been established and communicated to all existing students and offer holders. Students will need their own personal computer or laptop and an internet connection in their place of accommodation. This needs to be in place at the start of the course. Once enrolled, students will have the ability to use Office 365 as part of our institutional licence, and access software required for their modules/courses via AppsAnywhere. In addition, we offer Office for Mac via Ofice365, but only the following applications are available for Mac: Teams, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, OneNote. Web-based Office applications are available on Mac. Full details are available here. There is a provision for students who may struggle to meet the hardware requirements to contact our IT Hardship team.

Risk assessment

Students with pre-existing illnesses or disabilities, or who are shielding

If you suffer, or have suffered, from a serious illness (physical or psychological) or have a disability, or have been required to shield due to Covid-19, please let us know. St George’s is committed to supporting our students and will explore all reasonable adjustments to support you to thrive on your course.

Please contact our Disability Advisor as soon as possible with details to help us establish whether your health history or disability is likely to affect your ability to study or practise. This will also give us sufficient time to carry out a detailed assessment, obtain reports and organise additional expert assessments if required.

Attendance at site

Most of our courses include elements of teaching for which you will be required to attend the University site. Attendance at these sessions will be essential to enable you to engage with the course and undertake assessments.

Placements

You will be required to undertake a personal risk assessment before you can attend any placement that is part of your course (or undertake certain other activities, such as those which include the practice of clinical skills or require the use of PPE). Where a health concern arises, every effort will be made to identify alternative placement arrangements, but your health and safety will be the first priority, and alternative arrangements may not be possible. This may have implications for the continuation of your study. If you are clinically vulnerable or have been shielding, we strongly encourage you to contact the Disability Advisor now to undertake an assessment.

Course length

Additional costs

We do not expect students to incur any extra costs over and above those that we have advertised on the course page.

As a result of our courses beginning with the majority of teaching online, you will need a personal laptop or computer and access to the internet to participate in online lectures. Information is available on recommended device specification. If you are worried you might struggle to meet these requirements, you should email IThardship@sgul.ac.uk so we can look at support options for you.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) will be provided for you if needed.

Assessment methods

We assess the knowledge, skills and attributes of our students in a variety of ways. These include a written formal exam (statistics), written assessments such as essays, practical write-ups, special study reports and the final dissertation, and oral and poster presentations. 

Assessments are carried out between Dec 2020 till Aug 2021. At this stage, we expect to deliver these assessments as planned. Although some assessments are designed to be taken on site, we successfully developed an alternative strategy in 2019/20 to enable students to complete assessments remotely without coming on to campus. For example, oral presentations were delivered remotely using the Microsoft Teams platform. If the government advice on social distancing changes, we will take this approach again.

Award

The MRes Biomedical Science programme is not accredited and so the changes that we are making will have no bearing on the qualification.

Location of study

All face-to-face teaching will take place at St George’s, University of London, on the campus that we share with St George’s Hospital in Tooting, with appropriate social distancing measures in place. We have not explored alternative locations for teaching and have no immediate plans to do so. If government advice on social distancing changes, we will consider ways in which we can deliver teaching on site in a manner that is safe for students and staff.

Consenting to these changes

The changes that we are making are the consequence of current public health advice, and our capacity to offer alternatives is limited by that advice. If you wish to avoid these changes by deferring your offer please contact admissions@sgul.ac.uk.