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Biomedical Science (Medical Microbiology) MSc

Study microbiology with us and build a career in the health service, research or the pharmaceutical sector
Code
PGB900 (MSc)
Start
September 2024
Duration
1 year full-time
2 years part-time
Attendance
Full-time
Part-time
Fees
£10,500 (UK) *
£16,800 (INT) *
Course leader
Tham Janganan

Microbiology is the study of tiny organisms that can be harmful or helpful to us. With the recent pandemic and rise of new diseases, studying microbiology is more relevant than ever.

Why choose Biomedical Science (Medical Microbiology) MSc at Middlesex?

Our courses have a strong international reputation and the University's strong links with London hospital laboratories and Public Health England mean you study the latest developments, practices and research. Our Centre for Investigative and Diagnostic Oncology has pioneered techniques for cancer diagnosis and treatment including developing a vaccine for bladder cancer. The Haematology department is active in research into blood cancers, HIV and AIDS.

If you're currently working in microbiology, this master's degree will help you progress to a more senior position. You might also wish to explore your options in a research or academic career, or even complete further study at doctoral level.

Our flexible timetable means you'll only spend two days a week at the University if you're studying full-time, or one day if you're part-time which means you may well be able to study around existing work or life commitments.

What you will gain

This course is very practical and you will develop laboratory and diagnostic skills using our specialist laboratories which include a microbiology lab, a modern, well-equipped cell culture facility and cutting-edge equipment such as MALDI-TOF mass spectrometers and flow cytometers.

You will have access to an on-site molecular biology laboratory for techniques such as DNA sequencing, real-time PCR, electrophoresis and HPLC, as well as fully-equipped proteomics facilities

As well as in-depth knowledge of your subject, you will also gain a sound understanding of how to design and carry out experiments, statistical analyses as well as techniques for analysing samples and molecules. You will also develop laboratory management skills including how to manage staff, business plans, budgets, safety regulations, and quality management.

This course prepares you for management and lab supervisor roles within hospitals, universities and diagnostic laboratories within both the public and private sector.

Accreditations

This course is accredited by IBMS, the professional body for biomedical scientists in the UK.

The IBMS sets standards of practice to protect patients and assess qualifications for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Accreditation ensures that a degree course is relevant to current professional practice, up to date with the latest research and development, and delivers the required standards of proficiencies (SoPs) to meet the HCPC registration as a Biomedical scientist.

Members and Fellows of IBMS with a master’s degree or equivalent are eligible for Chartered Scientist status, which is a mark of excellence and achievement in science. For more information about the IBMS and membership, please visit the IBMS website (opens in new window).

3 great reasons to pick this course

  • Cutting-edge research facilities
    Study at our £36 million Hatchcroft Building featuring state-of-the-art bioscience, cell and tissue culture, mass spectrometry, and medical engineering labs
  • Latest DNA TechniquesLearn about DNA sequencing, real-time PCR, electrophoresis and HPLC techniques using our proteomics facilities
  • Excellent reputationTop 2 university in the UK (Times Higher Education Young Universities 2022)

Find out more

Sign up now to receive more information about studying at Middlesex University London.

You will study

  • all types of infectious agents, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses and prions, and develop an understanding of how they replicate and are transmitted as well as being able to identify and classify them
  • public health, and the control, treatment, prevention and eradication of human infectious diseases as well as focusing on the human immune system, immunisation, and healthcare-associated infection
  • the ethical and legal issues which can surround specific types of research such as assisted reproduction and genetics, and human or animal research.
  • Modules

    • Infectious Agents (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module aims to provide students with a sound knowledge of the structure and function of infectious agents. This will allow students to understand how structure and function influence how infectious agents replicate, how they are transmitted and how they can be controlled.

    • Human Infectious Disease (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module aims to provide students with sound knowledge of the transmission, epidemiology, and pathogenesis of human infectious diseases. This will allow students to understand how infectious agents disseminate within communities and the mechanisms by which they cause disease.

    • Control of Infectious Disease (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module aims to provide students with sound knowledge of the means of controlling the transmission of, and exposure to, infectious agents, the means through which the human body limits infection by the innate and adaptive immune response, and the theoretical and practical aspects of immunization and antimicrobial chemotherapy.

    • Laboratory Diagnosis and Safety (15 credits) - Compulsory

      This module aims to provide students with sound knowledge of both practical and theoretical aspects of the techniques used in the laboratory to diagnose and monitor infectious disease, as well as the safety aspects of taking, transporting, and testing clinical samples and isolated infectious agents.

    • Advanced Bioanalytical Techniques (15 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to examine advanced bioanalytical techniques that are used in biomedical research, for the analysis of products, improving disease understanding, and the analysis of disease biomarkers. It also provides a detailed understanding of the principles, theory, and practice of bioanalytical techniques.

    • Biomedical Ethics and Law (15 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to provide insight into a range of ethical and legal issues that relate to professional practice, to research with human and animal subjects. It will also aim to give students a broad overview of the relevant current UK ethical and legal regulations for research using human tissues.

    • Experimental Design & Statistics (15 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to provide students with the tools required to design effective and efficient experiments and test scientific hypotheses. The module will also equip students with the tools necessary for statistical analysis in a hypothesis testing context.

    • Leadership and Management (15 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to provide students with current theories and approaches to leadership and management in the order they can bring about effect positive change in the team or organisation that they lead or manage.

    • Research Project (60 credits) - Compulsory

      The module aims to develop skills in planning and execution of an analytical study and critical evaluation of real research results drawing on their acquired knowledge from other modules. In addition, the module aims to develop student’s communication skills to enable them to communicate their findings in written and oral form.

More information about this course

See the course specification for more information:

Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.

How we'll teach you

The course is delivered by our academics and industry partners in person and via digital platforms. Our learning activities include lectures, presentations, webinars, one-to-one tutorials and group projects.

You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience.

The course features partnerships with external experts such as virologists, parasitologists and mycologists from the NHS, UK Health Security (UKHSA) and other higher education Institutions. They engage with our students in various activities.

Where will you study?

You will be based at our north London campus and work in our state-of-the-art laboratories in the Hatchfield building.

Timetable

Whether you are studying full or part-time – your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.

We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.

Our flexible timetable means you'll only spend two days a week at the University if you're studying full-time, or one day if you're part-time

Teaching vs independent study

In a typical year, you’ll spend about 1200 hours on your course.

Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments including coursework and presentations.

Typical weekly breakdown

A typical week looks like this:

Learning

Hours per week

On-campus

12

Online

3

Independent study

5

Learning terms

On-campus: This includes tutor-led sessions such as seminars, lab sessions and demonstrations as well as student-led sessions for work in small groups.

Online learning: This is teaching that is delivered online using tools like Skype or Zoom, as well as work that you do yourself using online teaching resources.

Independent study: This is the work you do in your own time including reading and research.

Part-time study

You can also study this course part-time.

Academic support

We have a strong support network online and on campus to help you develop your academic skills. We offer one-to-one and group sessions to develop your learning skills together with academic support from our library, IT teams and learning experts.

  1. Standard entry requirements
  2. International (inc. EU)
  3. How to apply
  1. UK
  2. International
  3. Additional costs
  4. Scholarships and bursaries

How can the MSc Biomedical Science (Medical Microbiology) support your career?

Biomedical science is the second largest profession registered by the Health Professions Council and there is a high demand for well-qualified graduates. The range of roles open to graduates is vast and many have gone on to work in medical or pharmaceutical research, in primary care in surgeries and clinics, or in the community, identifying health risks, educating people about infection prevention and helping to stop the spread of disease. Others have gone onto to in environmental health, investigating food poisoning outbreaks and ensuring that food and drink businesses meet health and hygiene standards. There are also opportunities in diagnostic laboratories within both the public and private sectors.

If you're currently working in microbiology, this Masters programme will help you progress to a more senior position. You might also wish to explore your options in a research or academic career, or even complete further study at doctoral level.

There are a range of sectors suitable for your skills and expertise such as biotechnology, academia, and even areas like patent law, forensic science and science journalism. There are also a range of opportunities with Public Health England, the Medical Research Council and the Health and Safety Executive.

Tham Janganan
Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology

Thamarai (Tham) K Janganan is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Microbiology, Department of Natural Sciences at Middlesex University, London. He is a trained Microbiologist, having worked as a Clinical Microbiologist and Lecturer at various higher education institutions and hospitals in India since 1995. Later, he moved to the UK and received his PhD in Molecular Microbiology from Durham University in 2008.

Tham's research focuses on the molecular mechanisms contributing to antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative bacteria, aiming at elucidating the mechanism of how Gram-negative bacteria expel antimicrobial compounds.

Prof Ajit Shah

Dr Shah's research interests involve the development of platforms for metabolomics and applications of analytical techniques for measuring molecules in biological matrices. Professor Shah has over 20 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry during which he held various positions in GlaxoSmithKline as a Senior Scientist within Drug Discovery and received a number of awards including an exceptional science award for his work in the area of Neuroscience.

Britta Stordal
Associate Professor in Cancer Research

Dr Britta Stordal is the Faculty and Science and Technology Learning and Quality Lead at Middlesex.

Her research interests include biomarkers and mechanisms of platinum and taxane drug resistance in ovarian cancer, analysis of BRCA1 gene methylation, lifestyle-related risk factors of breast cancer and public awareness of the symptoms and risk factors of ovarian and cervical cancer

Lucy Ghali
Associate Professor in Biomedical Cell Biology

Being a Scientist as well as having a medical background, Dr. Lucy Ghali has a distinctive ability to contribute efficiently in teaching a wide range of topics across different programmes for students with diverse backgrounds. Besides, Dr. Ghali has extensive experience in training students in the necessary techniques to carry out high-quality and cutting-edge research in the area of pathology and oncology.

Darshna Yagnik
Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences

Darshna completed her PhD at Imperial College, London investigating the role of human monocytes in a model of cellular inflammation. She has worked at the Hammersmith Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden Hospital in diagnostics and reserach.

Her research interests include the use of chemical derivatives or alternative medications in treating infectious diseases, combatting cancer and inflammation.

Dr Sue Outram
Senior Lecturer Biological & Biomedical Science

Dr Outram's specialist research area includes the role of human chorionic gonadotrophin in inducing suppression of the immune response both during pregnancy and by hCG secreting tumours.


We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.

Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.

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