MRes Cardiovascular Health and Disease

Course description

Our MRes Cardiovascular Health and Disease course is a research-focused master's course focusing on cardiovascular research within a unique multidisciplinary training environment.

A Master of Research (MRes) degree provides preparatory training for academic research, ideal if you want to eventually progress on to a PhD and develop a research career, or if you wish to gain research skills within specialist areas before committing to a PhD. The course also provides a solid foundation for biomedical careers within the NHS or industry. This course is also highly suited to medical students who want to intercalate.

Through this course, you will develop broad biomedical research skills, but with an emphasis on application to cardiovascular science.

It is now widely recognised by employers and research councils that unravelling the basis of cardiovascular disease and developing new therapies is a high-priority area for investment, especially since the economic burden of cardiovascular disease is increasing.

However, it is becoming increasingly clearer that a gap has opened up between the skills possessed by new graduates and the skills normally expected on entry to a research degree or an industrial research career. This MRes has been specifically designed to fill this gap for those who wish to pursue a research career in cardiovascular sciences.

Our course is suitable if you come from a medical or science background and have little or no previous research experience.

Aims

Our course is designed to provide you with:

• specialist knowledge of the principles of the cardiovascular system in health and disease, with an emphasis on emerging technologies (taught lectures / masterclasses);
• laboratory skills, research methodology and data analysis (25-week project);
• critical analysis of scientific and medical literature and learning how to write a grant application (literature review and research proposal);
• intellectual skills for understanding and interpreting research problems (tutorials);
• communication of scientific data and concepts (oral presentations and written reports).

Coursework and assessment

Assessment is through a combination of written reports (in journal format), literature review, tutorials and oral presentations.

This range of training methods aims to promote a stimulating and dynamic learning environment. The different course units will enable the development of key transferable skills in the critical analysis of research methodologies, data interrogation, communication and time management.

Career opportunities

After this course, many students continue their studies and register for a PhD.

However, the course is also of value if you want to progress in careers in the pharmaceutical industry, NHS (e.g. specialist training programmes) or clinical research. Additionally, bioscience students who have graduated from this MRes have been successful in gaining entry onto 4 year graduate medicine programmes.

The MRes is also ideal for MBChB intercalating students who wish to undertake directly channelled research training in the field of cardiovascular medicine.

Many of the skills and training provided by the MRes are generic and will have wide application to the study of other disciplines.