Cancer Biology
Regulation of cell division and aberrations in malignant tumours, genetic bases of tumourigenesis, programmed cell death.
Programmes
- BSc Biochemistry, BSc Medical Biochemistry, BSc Biological Sciences, BSc Human Biology
Level
Final Year
20 Credits
This module will consider multiple aspects of Cancer Biology and therapeutic opportunities that are arising for the treatment of these diseases.
At one level we will consider the pathways that regulate cell division and survival that become subverted in malignant cells. Major advances in this area have occurred as a result of biochemical and genetic investigations in a wide range of organisms. These have revealed a core set of molecular mechanisms which are highly conserved between species. The essential elements include specific extracellular signals which coordinate cell proliferation by activating specific signalling pathways inside the cell. These pathways converge upon the transcriptional activation of a number of genes whose activity is required to induce the processes leading to the replication of DNA and subsequent completion of the cell cycle.
Assessment
Exam (60%), Coursework (40%)