Teaching and learning

The Neuroscience and Ophthalmology Research Group has an active and successful education and training portfolio, with members contributing to all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within MDS. These investigators have recently launched a relevant Masters programme (MSc in Trauma Sciences) and have a significant pipeline of clinical and non-clinical PhD students. The research group members also have strong synergy with the new cross-college EPSRC funded Centre for Doctoral Research (CDT), SciPhy4Health, which is the only CDT in the UK in the area of developing physical sciences for Healthcare, for which Trauma is a major pillar. UoB has invested well in this CDT and members of our research group are actively contributing to this programme. Additionally the CDT has the support of some major industries, which play a strong supporting role for the Neuroscience and Ophthalmology Research Group.

Our excellence in research informs the development and delivery of our research and taught programmes including MBChB, BMedSc, PGR, PGT and CPD.

Taught Post Graduate Research (MSc/PGDip)

MSc Trauma Science

The incidence of trauma continues to rise. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2020 trauma will become the leading cause of death worldwide due to ageing in Western populations, increasing road use in developing countries and conflict. In England alone there are at least 20,000 cases of major trauma each year resulting in 5,400 deaths and many others resulting in permanent disabilities requiring long-term care. There are around a further 28,000 cases which, although not meeting the precise definition of major trauma, would be cared for in the same way. For this reason, we have developed the only full-time face-to-face MSc Trauma Science course is the in the UK.

The programme is delivered in partnership with frontline experts based in the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, which has received funding from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the University of Birmingham, creating a major trauma treatment centre that offers the full range of required trauma specialists together with an associated national trauma research centre (NIHR SRMRC). This joint civilian and military clinical trauma centre shares a campus with the University of Birmingham where researchers from biomedical, engineering and physical sciences are working together with the clinical teams on a range of trauma-related research programmes.

Programme Directors:
Dr Zubair Ahmed and Professor Antonio Belli

Graduate Journey

Check out Dr Lisa Hill's graduate story in the video below. Lisa came through our undergraduate BMedSc course, subsequently completed a PhD and is now employed as a research fellow within the NIHR Trauma Centre at the University of Birmingham.