Developmental Biology

Entry requirements

We require an honours degree (minimum Upper Second) or overseas equivalent in:

• biological sciences
• medical sciences

With sufficient evidence of the relevant units taken.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Our research-focused MSc Developmental Biology course will give you extensive hands-on experience of conducting research on timely topics of developmental biology.

You will learn through an interactive approach involving seminars, workshops and small group tutorials rather than traditional lectures.

You will also undertake your own research project in the labs of leading researchers working on a range of model organisms and diverse areas of developmental biology.

You will gain research experience and professional skills, perhaps in a different area to your first degree, before deciding on a future career in industry or academic research. This will allow you to make an informed choice about the research area you want to go into.

You choose the laboratory placement from a list provided by your programme director. Examples of developmental biology research at Manchester include:

• studies of gene expression and cell signalling in model organisms, such as Drosophila, Xenopus and mice, to decipher the mechanisms by which different cell types and tissues arise during development. Findings obtained from these studies serve as general principles relating to human development;
• exploring how dysregulation of developmental mechanisms leads to human diseases, eg cancer, using various models;
• research into the mechanisms regulating stem cell maintenance and differentiation to harness the therapeutic potential of stem cells;
• looking at the healing process to improve wound repair and the longer-term regeneration of organs.