The aim of this postgraduate Neuroscience and Translational Medicine programme, which is at present the first of its kind in the UK and Europe, is to provide a thorough training in the main concepts and methods of translational medicine, with a particular focus on unmet needs in diseases of the nervous system and the challenge of developing better therapies. At the end of their studies students will have a detailed knowledge of the drug discovery and development process, and of clinical trial design and methodology and the regulatory environment.

The formal teaching takes place in the Centre for Neuroscience and Trauma at the Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, and includes lectures, seminars, clinical workshops and a research project. The lecturers are specialists in their field and are pre-clinical scientists and clinicians, and are internationally renowned as leaders in their field. There are also invited speakers, who are specialists from other UK or international academic institutions and senior scientists from the pharmaceutical industry.

Programme Outline

The programme provides coverage of the following topics:

• Basic principles in neuroscience
• Mechanisms of disease and drug targets in the nervous system
• Unmet therapeutic needs in major disease areas in neurology
• Biomarkers of disease and their role in drug development
• Genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and systems biology and their impact in modern medicine
• Drug discovery
• Drug development
• Clinical trial design and regulatory requirements
• Intellectual property

The taught programme starts with a core module which covers fundamental concepts in drug discovery and development, and continues with five special modules which cover comprehensively specific disease areas. The taught programme is delivered in two half-days per week, throughout the academic year. After the completion of the taught programme, students carry out a research project, which can be library-based, laboratory-based or clinically-based.

Assessment

The taught modules are assessed using a combination of final written examinations and a series of in-course assessments. The in-course assessments consist of literature reviews, oral presentations, case analyses and clinical trial protocols. They are designed as a learning experience as well as a test of knowledge. They represent 30 per cent of the module marks. The research project assessment is based on a written dissertation and an oral examination, which represent 85 per cent and 15 per cent of the mark, respectively.

Entry requirements

If you are a medical graduate, dentistry graduate, pharmacist or nurse, or scientist in the public or private sector, the Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma may appeal more to you if you want a shorter programme of study, more compatible with full-time professional activity.

If you are an overseas student or a recent graduate in medicine, pharmacy or biomedical science, you are more likely to want to follow the full-time MSc programme.

Evidence of English proficiency is required of students for whom English is not their first language. A minimum overall score of 6.5 IELTS (or equivalent) is required.

For further information please contact:

Mr Surinder Pal
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8605
email: s.pal@qmul.ac.uk

For informal academic enquiries, please contact
Dr. Adina Michael-Titus (Programme Director)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 2290
email: A.T.Michael-Titus@qmul.ac.uk