PHA-10026 - Module Specification
School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

Molecular biology and genetics are the foundation of modern medicine and recent advances in these disciplines have provided many tools to dissect the function of a gene and understand how mutations have an impact on biological processes and diseases. This module is designed to give you a firm and detailed overview of how genetic information is stored into the DNA and how it is expressed, copied, repaired and transmitted to the next generation. Lectures in the traditional and virtual format will be complemented by a series of practical sessions that will support your understanding of nucleic acids and their manipulation.

The module will instil basic understanding of nucleic acids, structure and organisation of the genetic materials and its inheritance, the concept of gene as well as information about gene expression and regulation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Describe the structure and function of the genome and understand the basic mechanisms of its replication.: 1,3
Describe the main key players of the central dogma of the molecular biology and understand how genetic information is used by cells.: 1,4
Explain how mutations affect cell behaviours and understand their pathological implication.: 1,3,4
Describe traditional principles of the genetic inheritance.: 1,3
Describe basic mechanisms of gene expression and gene expression regulation.: 1,4
Plan and undertake basic experimental procedures essential to create recombinant DNA molecules such as DNA extraction, DNA amplification by PCR, digestion, ligation, agarose electrophoresis.: 2,4
Perform basic bioinformatics analysis.: 2

Study hours

Lectures: 48 hours
- 12 lectures (two hours each) in each of the two semesters
External visit: 4 hours
Laboratory Activities: 40 hours. All laboratory session will be delivered in semester two:
- 8 laboratory workshops (one hour each)
- 8 laboratory sessions (four hours each)
Exams: 4 hours
- one exam per semester; each exam will be two hours long.

Independent Study Hours: 208
- reviewing module content and revising (150 hours)
- researching and drafting assignments (54 hours)
- exams (4 hours)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment