The University of Sheffield
Department of Biomedical Science

BMS403 - Critical Analysis of Current Science (20 credits)

Module Co-ordinator: Dr. Anne-Gaëlle Borycki

Aims

The aim of the module is to increase students understanding and breadth of knowledge of biomedical research and to enable them to integrate their own work into the wider scientific field. Students will gain a view of current developments and `hot topics´ in the Biomedical Sciences through attendance of the Departmental external seminar programme and by reading, understanding and criticising scientific literature related to the seminars and/or the departmental scientific interest.

Content

Seminar content will reflect the complete breadth of active research interests within the Department of Biomedical Science with most invited speakers being leaders in their respective field and invited from outside of the University. Occasionally speakers are invited from within the Department, and also from within the wider research community in Sheffield. Areas of interest will include but are not restricted to; Developmental Genetics, Cell Biology, Physiology and Pharmacology, Models of Human Disease, Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine.

Objectives

On completion of the module students will be able to:

Teaching Methods

One briefing session will be given at the beginning of semester 1A to discuss the module organization and to give students guidance on how to get the most out of seminars and information regarding the journal club.

Students will have to attend at least 5 seminars per semester (3 of which will be compulsory - attendance at seminars will be monitored). In addition, students will attend four journal clubs per semester.

Topics presented will represent a wide-range of research interests within the Department.

External seminar series information and scheduling can be found at:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/bms/research/seminars/external.html

Assessment

By the end of the first semester, students must prepare a word-processed essay (maximum of 1000 words) that contains a critical analysis of a research article provided by the module coordinator.

The essay should not be a mere summary of the research, but should highlight the significance of the work and the implications for the field of biomedical science. It should be supported by references to the published literature.

The essay should be handed in during the official handing-in period during week 12 (further details of the handing-in session will be posted on MOLE and on the notice boards nearer the time: please see the Departmental Handbook regarding the penalties for late submission). You are also reminded of the guidelines about, and the consequences of, plagiarism and/or collusion that are provided in the Departmental Handbook.

During the assessment period of the Autumn Semester, each student must also prepare and present a poster illustrating the following theme:
How the use of animal models has furthered research in the Biomedical Sciences

Arrangements for the display and assessment of the poster will be circulated during Semester 1. The presenter of the poster will be expected to provide a brief (approximately 5-10 minutes) oral overview of their poster and answer questions related to the subject matter on display (further details will be provided at the start of the module).

At the end of the Spring Semester, students will sit a two-hour final exam in which they will be expected to answer a series of short questions related to a research article. Answers to the questions are expected to include material and references to discussions and arguments developed during seminars and journal clubs attended throughout the year and related reading. The research article will be pre-circulated to the students two weeks before to allow them time to prepare / revise background material.

Breakdown of Marks: