Transplantation MRes

Newcastle University

The Transplantation MRes enables you to experience an internationally competitive research area, predominantly in academia but also potentially in industry. The MRes can be taken either as a stand-alone qualification or provide an entry route onto a PhD or MD.

The course is designed for graduates with a BSc in the life sciences and is also suitable for graduates from other science disciplines and intercalating and fully qualified MBBS or BDS students.

What you'll learn

There is a taught component with subject-specific content in the area of Transplantation. Subject-based modules provide a broad exposure to diverse aspects of transplantation, from clinical concepts to cutting edge scientific development. There will be a unique opportunity to gain insights into the speciality of transplantation sciences in the context of transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells, corneal/limbal stem cells and a variety of solid organs.

The modules aim to:

provide sound understanding of the scientific basis underlying the therapeutic benefits and adverse effects of clinical transplants
highlight the research areas where applications of immunology and cell biology can improve transplant outcome and patient wellbeing
provide a view of bench to bedside translational links between scientific research and clinical practice

The course emphasises the clinical practice driven research, which prepares students for a future career in either medical practice or broad biomedical research.

Main topics covered include:

transplantation immunology related to cellular and molecular basis of allogeneic immune responses, tolerance, immunosuppression
the genetic and molecular basis of HLA system, non-HLA immunogenetics, histocompatibility, impact of HLA matching in choice of donor and transplant outcome
transplantation pathology related to graft-versus-host disease following haematopoietic stem cell transplant, rejection following solid organ transplant, tissue damage and loss of graft function
manipulation of haematopoietic stem cells for clinical use
development of novel therapeutic strategies to aid improvement of clinical transplant outcome.