»Ê¼Ò»ªÈË

The Human Genetics: Core Skills Module offers you bite-size topics related to human genetics allowing you to develop further your writing and verbal communication skills together alongside discussions of contemporary topics. Through learning activities, this module allows you to develop further your core research skills such as analysing and presenting research papers that are essential when studying otherÌýmodules and beyond. You will receive individual feedback on your writing style and presentation skills.

At the start of the course, you will be offered refresher lectures on human genetics and statistics including tutorials on linkage analysis. Other lecture topics include effective essay writing, scientific presentations, and designing good scientific posters and as well as sessions discussing the role of biobanks in biomedical research and ethics of human genetics. In addition, you will be offered two laboratory sessions, and computer practicals on introduction to R programming.

After completing this module, you will be able to:

1. Explain complex inheritance and linkage mapping in Human Genetics.
2. Effectively communicate science to experts and the public.
3. Discuss current insights/issues relating to the ethics of human genetics research.
4. Extract DNA from saliva and perform PCR.
5. Understand the basics use of R language for statistical computing.

Examples of lecture topics

• Human Genetics: Complex Inheritance
• Human Genetics: Linkage mapping
• Effective academic essay writing
• How to design effective research poster design
• Effective presentation of a research paper
• Science communication to experts and non-experts and ethics of human genetics research
• Biobanks and their role in genomics research

Practicals

• Introduction to R
• Laboratory skills: extraction of DNA from saliva and PCR