Statistics and experimental design form the backbone of empirical research. They provide the logical framework for collecting, analysing, and interpreting data. A properly structured experiment minimises bias, isolates the variables being tested, and uses statistical methods to draw valid, reproducible conclusions.

As we present the chemical basis of life, this course examines the structure, function, and interactions of the principal biomolecules — proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates — and the metabolic and regulatory networks through which they sustain living systems. Biochemical principles are connected throughout to their applications in medicine, pharmacy, and biotechnology — from inborn errors of metabolism to the mechanisms of action of statins, antibiotics, and modern therapeutic agents.

This course serves the needs of Chemistry and Biology/Biotechnology students, examining how organic chemicals (including biological molecules) react and how chemists use knowledge of molecular interactions to synthesise new chemicals with desirable properties. Topics include nucleophilic substitution and elimination mechanisms; synthesis and reactions of carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, phenols, ethers and amines; electrophilic aromatic substitution; oxidation and reduction; modern synthesis methods; and structure determination by IR, mass spectrometry and NMR.

Molecular biology is a central science in twenty-first-century biology and biotechnology, essential across microbiology, cell biology, immunology, and development. This module provides an advanced understanding of the core mechanisms of molecular biology, encompassing DNA replication and recombination, prokaryotic and eukaryotic gene expression, mobile elements, nuclear function, and epigenetics, alongside contemporary technologies including genome sequencing, metagenomics, and systems and synthetic biology.

This course serves the needs of Pharmaceutical and Biology/Biotechnology students, examining how organic chemicals (including biological molecules) interact at a molecular level with other molecules, including in biological systems, and how new molecules with desirable properties can be synthesised. Heterocyclic and pericyclic chemistry is presented in detail, covering nomenclature, structure, reactivity, synthesis and applications of the main five- and six-membered ring systems.

This module builds on prior cell biology study to provide a thorough grounding in how the human body maintains normal function and responds to disruption. It covers physiology, anatomy, pathophysiology (how normal processes break down in disease), and an introduction to pharmacology (how drugs act on tissues), alongside standard diagnostic tests and key experimental techniques. It forms a critical foundation for later modules in pathology, pharmacology, and therapeutics.

This course focuses on state-of-the-art programs designed for sequence alignment, database searching, RNA structure prediction, microarray sequence analysis, gene prediction, repeat detection, and protein folding prediction. The algorithmic techniques discussed include dynamic programming, hidden Markov models, finite state automata, grammars, Karlin-Altschul statistics and Bayesian statistics.

In multicellular organisms, cells send and receive chemical messages constantly to coordinate the actions of distant organs, tissues, and cells. This ability to send messages quickly and efficiently enables cells to coordinate and fine-tune their functions. The course examines the key stages of signalling and the types of intercellular signalling — autocrine, paracrine, endocrine and synaptic.

Microorganisms represent the most diverse group of organisms on the planet, and microbial processes are central to the geochemical and ecosystem processes that sustain the biosphere. This course examines microbial products with environmental applications — hydrolytic enzymes, biocontrol agents and pollutant-degrading bacteria — and how microbial processes can be harnessed to facilitate a cleaner and healthier environment.

Proteomics is concerned with the chemical principles underlying recent developments in protein science, including proteomics, structural biology and bioinformatics. The course covers methods used in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to isolate and purify macromolecules, including engineered recombinant proteins, with practical work in chromatography purification, 3D molecular graphics and major protein web-based resources.

Cancer is a group of diseases characterised by the uncontrolled, abnormal growth and spread of cells, driven by DNA damage that forces cells to bypass natural death cycles and multiply excessively. This course provides an understanding of how cancer originates, its primary classifications, how it spreads, risk factors, and available treatments.

This course introduces the knowledge base and skill set required for launching technology-driven ventures, building practical capabilities students can apply to their own entrepreneurial ambitions. It looks closely at how founders carry out the groundwork behind building a venture — identifying opportunities, evaluating and stress-testing them, and choosing among the strategies available for breaking into a market — so that the founder, the business concept, and the market environment are deliberately aligned into an operation that is workable, sustainable, and profitable over time.