Course overview
The material taught in this course is organised around the theme of genes - how genes function and their roles in animal and plant development and disease. The aim is to give students an appreciation, at an advanced level, of the mechanisms that control gene expression, the genetic determination of developmental pathways, the various types of human genetic mutation that lead to disease, the pathogenic pathways from genotype to phenotype and the legal regulatory framework for research in genetics. The practical component of the course will extend students' familiarity with various laboratory and/or analytical techniques used in human and developmental genetics through a number of laboratory and scientific literature research projects. Attendance at the majority of workshops during this course must be given priority as there is assessment during every workshop. There is no final exam for this course.
Course learning outcomes
- Understand the underlying conceptual framework regarding the regulation of genes and how research expands our knowledge in this area
- Understand the underlying conceptual framework regarding how genes control embryo development and how research expands our knowledge in this area
- Understand the underlying conceptual framework regarding human genetics and how research expands our knowledge in this area
- Research the scientific literature to comprehend and analyse the scientific research data described in peer-reviewedjournals
- Record laboratory research notes, analyse and evaluate experimental data and synthesise reports on such data
- Extract relevant information from literature databases for synthesis and presentation in written or oral form