In this module you’ll explore the molecular principles that govern cellular function and metabolism. You’ll study the structure and function of key biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, with an emphasis on their roles in metabolic pathways and other essential cellular mechanisms.

Topics include enzyme kinetics, metabolic regulation, and the biochemical basis of energy transfer within the cell. The module will provide you with the molecular underpinnings of human health and highlight how disruptions in biochemical pathways contribute to disease development. Laboratory sessions will let you gain a more in-depth and practical understanding of the topics covered. By the end of the module, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of key cellular biochemical processes relevant to molecular medicine and biotechnology.

This module takes you through the process of drug development - from initial discovery to market. We'll cover target identification and validation followed by hit identification and lead discovery. You’ll learn about different approaches for finding new drugs: from high throughput screening of compound libraries to focused screens, virtual screens and structure-based drug design.

You’ll gain insight into challenges in assessing the efficacy and safety of new drugs, including the testing strategies and legal requirements involved. We will explore how preclinical models are used to test pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters and how this helps determine factors like drug formulation and dosing schedule. You’ll learn about the role of clinical trials in determining drug safety and efficacy, considering trial design and the importance of post-approval surveillance. The module will also provide contextual information on how preclinical and clinical trials fit into the international medicines regulatory process and its requirements.

Develop your knowledge and expertise in the characterisation of chemical systems. By integrating models of structure, bonding, motion and reactivity with spectroscopic and analytical techniques that can directly probe and interrogate chemical systems, you will develop an enhanced view of their properties, structure and behaviour.

Key topics in this module include:

• Analytical chemistry
• Symmetry and group theory
• Organic spectroscopy
• Inorganic spectroscopy
• Macromolecules
• Transition metal molecular orbital theory

Application of these techniques is explored in practical and skills modules.

With a strong focus on practical chemistry and broader skills, we build your expertise and confidence in the lab. You will continue to develop your portfolio of practical and professional chemistry skills using familiar synthesis, characterisation, measurement and computational techniques as well as being introduced to new ones.

Develop further knowledge and expertise in organic chemical synthesis, focusing on mechanistic and structural chemistry and expanding on the approaches we can use to rationalise and predict the behaviour, structure and reactions of organic molecules. You will also cover basic organometallic chemistry and the application of organometallics to organic synthesis. You will further your theoretical knowledge and understanding of organic chemistry, expanding on the approaches used to rationalise and predict molecular structure and functional group reactivity.

Key topics in this module include:

• Retrosynthetic analysis
• Aromatic chemistry
• Alkene and alkyne chemistry
• Enol and enolate chemistry
• Conformational analysis
• Organometallic chemistry in synthesis

These approaches combine to develop an enhanced picture of the properties and reactivity of chemical systems, and the standard routes to synthesising a variety of different chemical compounds. Practical application of these techniques is explored in practical and skills modules.

This module will equip you with an in-depth understanding of critical concepts in the science of pharmacology through exploration of real-world examples. You will gain deeper insight into how pharmacodynamic parameters determine how drugs are administered and their effects on the body.

In addition to looking at how drugs affect the body, we'll also discuss how the body affects drugs - exploring in detail the pharmacokinetic parameters of absorption, distribution metabolism and excretion (ADME). You'll learn how drug formulation and delivery route can alter ADME characteristics, enabling a drug's effects to be fine-tuned to achieve the required clinical outcome. We will cover adverse effects of some drugs and how these can be mitigated. You'll also find out how individual and population genetics can affect drug responses and learn what this means for drug discovery and personalised medicine.

This module will provide an in-depth exploration of novel pharmacological approaches that are revolutionising the treatment of many conditions. You will be introduced to new concepts in the design and use of small molecules to treat disease. For example, we will look at how PROTACs and molecular glues can be used to degrade target proteins rather than inhibit them. We will also discuss recently emerging therapeutic avenues such as biologics, nanotechnology, cell and gene therapy, immunological therapies, and other medicine modalities. You'll understand how these approaches work and the benefits they offer in treating and preventing disease.

The research project provides you with first-hand experience of research and the opportunity to be immersed in an area of work of current interest in biomedical and life sciences. Your research project is underpinned by training in research methods to support you in planning, conducting, and reporting on an open-ended investigation.

Throughout your project, you’ll receive one-to-one support from a member of academic staff with expertise in your specific area of study. Projects cover a wide variety of topics and may be carried out in a variety of ways. They involve a significant amount of original work and analysis, so you gain experience in a range of skills, including experimental design and testing of hypotheses. The project also helps you to develop graduate attributes relevant to employment, including time management, communication skills, and independent working. The results of your research are reported in a written dissertation and an oral presentation.

Whilst scientific advances have led to tremendous improvements in human health over the past century, significant challenges remain. These include, problems associated with an ageing population and an increase in non-communicable diseases, new and re-emerging infectious diseases, the impact of environmental factors and social determinants on health, as well as continued disparity in access to healthcare provision across different population groups.

In this module you will study challenges of global significance that will provide you with a real-world perspective on human health and the multi-disciplinary and collaborative approaches required to tackle challenges on a national and international scale. You will consider how technological advancements, such as the use of artificial intelligence, could positively transform healthcare, but also ethical concerns that may be raised by the implementation of new technologies.

This optional module covers topics informed by current research, providing significant depth in a specialised area of chemistry.

This module focuses on advanced topics in organic chemistry and will be of particular interest to you if you would like to focus on pharmaceutical, medicinal, and advanced mechanistic chemistry.

Key topics in this module include:

• Chemical biology and biomolecular chemistry
• Medicinal chemistry and drug design
• Advanced asymmetric synthesis and catalysis

Significant emphasis is placed on advanced practical chemistry skills, where you will focus on developing your independence in practical work, and on more open-ended and extended practical investigations.

Build on the breadth of practical experience gain so far to further develop your expertise and confidence in advanced practical chemistry. Here, you will study more specialised practical techniques in more extended, open-ended practical’s that connect and develop skills from across the discipline and employ them in increasingly unfamiliar contexts. These practical skills directly complement the project that you will undertake this year.

Build upon topics learned in earlier years, covering the synthesis and structure of both organic molecules, the application of transition metal complexes to the catalysis of organic transformations, and further developing your knowledge and expertise in advanced synthetic chemistry.

Key topics in this module include:

• Retrosynthesis and selective synthetic strategies
• Asymmetric synthesis
• Mechanistic and physical organic chemistry
• Reactive intermediates and photochemical methods
• Transition metal and organometallic chemistry