Postgraduate Course: Project Proposal and Literature Review for MSc Drug Discovery and Translational Biology (BICH11005)
Course Outline
| School | School of Biological Sciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Preparation for the MSc Research Project will take to the form of a grant proposal on a topic related to, but distinct from, the research project to be undertaken in the later part of the programme. |
| Course description |
This course simulates the production of a funding application for a medium term (36 Month) research project. This is coupled with the students research project topic and allows them to perform a thorough literature search as well as some research into some experimental/data collection skills that are current within their topic.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Entry to the course will be for students already holding (or expecting to hold) an Honours degree or equivalent in a biological subject such as biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, pharmacology. Students with a background in chemistry, physics, computer science or Informatics will also be considered, and those with other scientific or medical backgrounds should contact the Course Organiser. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 2,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 6,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
90 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
90%: One written Research Project Proposal, in the form of a grant proposal for a 3-year research project.
10%: Two short oral presentations (worth 5% each); one summarising the background to the scientific question in the proposal and the second outlining the proposed methodology to be applied/used in the project to address that scientific question. |
| Feedback |
Individual, in-person verbal feedback on one draft, and written feedback for final submission, of the written Research Project Proposal. Written feedback for the oral presentations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe the process of obtaining funding for academic research
- Search, identify and critically evaluate the relevant literature to gain a thorough and current knowledge of a drug discovery-related topic
- Design the appropriate experiments to build on current biochemical knowledge and identify the resources required to investigate a drug discovery question
- Prepare and orally present short summaries of both the current knowledge of, and proposed experiments to address, the drug discovery question
- Prepare a relevant, coherent and acceptable grant application
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
2 lectures, 1 tutorial session to review previous examples and 6 workshops. |
| Keywords | DDTB RProposal |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Iain McNae
Tel: (0131 6)50 7048
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Louise Robertson
Tel: (0131 6)50 5988
Email: |
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