Medical Biochemistry

At the heart of modern medicine, Medical Biochemistry is crucial to the way we understand the causes and effects of disease and how new treatments are developed.

Medical Biochemistry at Swansea University successfully bridges medicine and science, ensuring you develop the core knowledge, practical and employability skills needed to work at the highest levels of science, medicine, pharmaceutical and biomedical science industries.

You will gain fundamental knowledge of physiology, biochemistry, genetics, and immunology, whilst developing a deep understanding of the biochemical function of living organisms, as you study the chemical processes that occur and study cell function at sub-cellular and molecular levels.

Throughout the programme, you will gain excellent analytical and project management skills as you learn how to design experiments and plan work programmes.

Based on our stunning Singleton Park campus, in parkland overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula, Swansea University’s Medical School is home to state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities.

You will benefit from access to our cutting-edge facilities, such as:
• HPLC
• Gas Chromatography
• Mass Spectrometry
• DNA and protein analytical equipment
• Computer-based image analysers for molecular or cellular studies

As one of our Pathways to Medicine courses, provided you meet the minimum entry requirements for Graduate Entry Medicine, and have successfully completed the pathway, you will be guaranteed an interview for our flagship Medicine (Graduate Entry) MBBCh course.

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Genetics, Genomics & Evolution; Organic and Analytical Chemistry: an Introduction for Life Sciences; Introductory Biochemistry; Human Physiology; Skills for being a Medical Scientist; Cell Biology.

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Clinical Biochemistry; Human Immunology; Neuroscience & Neurology; Metabolic Regulation, Enzymology and Endocrinology; Carbohydrate and lipid metabolism; Techniques in Molecular Biology.

In Year 3, you will typically study areas including: Membrane Trafficking; Practical Quantitative Research; Nucleic acids: components, metabolism and modification; Human Immunopathology; Capstone Project; Teaching Science; Genetics of Cancer; Advanced Research Topics in Biomedical Science.

A wide variety of assessment methods is used in addition to the more traditional written exams, essays, lab reports and project dissertations. Students may undertake coursework such as: online web assignments, online problem solving, poster production, talks, slide presentations, screencasts, and literature reviews. Some of these tasks develop groupwork skills.