The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics & Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital BSc Honours Projects for 2008 “Molecular Biology of Human Development and Disease”
The Department of Paediatrics and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute are located in the Royal Children's Hospital, and have extensive biomedical scientific research programs conducted in modern well-equipped laboratories. Our BSc(Hons) course focuses on the understanding of the biochemical and genetic mechanisms of the control of cellular differentiation and development, and the molecular basis of human disease.
Course Outline
Prerequisites
Successful completion of third year course in Science subjects relevant to medical or biological research (such as Biochemistry, Genetics, Immunology or Microbiology)
Coursework (571-497) (25% of total assessment)
- Lectures on recent concepts and techniques in the molecular biology of human growth, development and disease.
- A Bioinformatics assignment to introduce and build confidence in online bioinformatics applications.
- Attendance at Departmental Seminars and participation in Research Group meetings.
Research Project (571-496) (75% of total assessment)
The research project will be performed under the supervision of experienced senior scientific research staff in one of the fully-equipped research laboratories at the Royal Children's Hospital. Assessment will be based on a 10,000 to 12,000 word written report, oral presentations of the research results and a supervisor's report on the laboratory skills achieved by the student.
How to find out more information
Contact the Project Supervisors listed next to the projects below, or the Coordinator:
A/Prof Amanda Fosang, PhD
T 8341 6466
To Apply for BSc Honours 2008
To apply for University of Melbourne BSc Honours please print, complete and return this Honours Application Form to A/Prof Amanda Fosang (see contact details above).
Register your Project Preferences
To register your honours project preferences please print, complete and return this Preference Form to A/Prof Amanda Fosang (see contact details above).
About the BSc Honours in the Department of Paediatrics “Molecular Biology of Human Development and Disease”
- The course offered in Paediatrics has been carefully developed to provide students with advanced coursework and research projects focused on the Molecular Biology of Human Development and Disease.
- The advanced lectures have been carefully prepared to provide a detailed and integrated biochemical and genetic knowledge of topics within this focus area
- The majority of lecturers have PhD degrees and most have had significant undergraduate and post-graduate teaching experience
Research Projects and Supervision
- Research projects offered by individual research groups within the Department have been overseen by the Honours Committee
- All projects address fundamental scientific questions.
- The Department of Paediatrics and MCRI have major basic research program attracting external peer-reviewed funding in excess of $2M pa. This research effort is substantially larger than that of many other Departments and offers students a wide choice of supervisor, topics and technical repertoire.
- Supervisors have extensive experience in research and graduate supervision and student assessment.
- Supervisors are mostly full-time researchers with a very limited teaching load and more time to devote to student supervision.
- A vigorous seminar program is in place, comprising at least weekly formal lectures from external invited speakers or researchers from within the Hospital.
- After the conclusion of the coursework component, students completed a questionnaire assessing both the content and delivery of the lecture material. Students judged the course to be highly interesting and highly relevant.
- Students assessed the coursework challenging but not too hard, and found the extensive lecture handout material helpful for the exam preparation.