Research Project

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Students should discuss total time commitment with their supervisor but as a guide, a student would be expected to be engaged in their research for an average of thirty hours per week over two semesters.

As our projects cover a very wide range of diseases and approaches from public health to molecular mechanisms, students are invited to consult with prospective supervisors.

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Equitable Adjustment Procedure (SEAP), academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry. It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability will impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This course is designed for students who want to gain experience in medical research but who are not enrolled in a medical degree. A particularly attractive aspect of the program is each project addresses a research problem directly relevant to human disease. A very wide range of projects is offered by leading research experts in laboratories belonging to this academic centre (University of Melbourne. Departments of Medicine based at the Royal Melbourne and Western Hospitals, Departments of Radiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Psychiatry and Surgery along with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Florey Neuroscience Institute. There are also projects with the CSIRO and NARI (National Ageing Research Unit). We have expertise in state-of-the-art basic, applied and clinical methodologies and offer a unique experience to Honours students. Not only do students master the research field of their project, but they have the opportunity to learn about the bigger picture, particularly with regard to leadership and responsibility, and the importance of the interface between research and clinical medicine. The research project is complemented by a seminar series dealing with “translational medicine” which is research that aims to turn scientific discoveries into practical treatments or interventions to improve human health and relieve suffering. All of the projects offer the opportunity of progression on to higher degrees including a PhD.

Students will be enrolled in a combination of the research project subjects indicated below to ensure they have completed a total of 75 points for the research project by the end of their course.

MEDI40003 Research project 25 points (semester 1)
MEDI40012 Research project 50 points (semester 2)

To provide a research based introduction to methods and concepts in translational research focused on a research question relevant to a major human disease.

• Oral presentation of introduction to project and literature (not used in final assessment)
• Oral presentation of final research project (20%)
• Research thesis (80%)

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This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students will learn to:

• perform research in a collaborative, often multidisciplinary research environment
• Develop an understanding of major methods in translational medicine
• critically asses literature
• develop critical reason skills
• place their research practises in an ethical context
• integrate scientific information into an information framework
• identify unresolved scientific questions and understand the process of hypothesis generation and testing
• identify the best experimental approaches to address open questions
• Understand strengths and weaknesses of experimental methodologues
• develop their oral and written presentation skills
• develop critical reasoning and project time management skills

Students must be enrolled in the Bachelor of Biomedicine (Honours), Bachelor of Science (Honours) or Master of Science to complete this subject.