BSc Medical Biochemistry with Industrial/Professional Experience

This course unit detail provides the framework for delivery in 22/23 and may be subject to change due to any additional Covid-19 impact.  Please see Blackboard / course unit related emails for any further updates.

Chemistry of Biomolecules focuses on the chemistry underpinning the biological roles of proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic and lipids. You will learn about the link between structure and function of these molecules at a chemical level within a biological context. Overview lectures will bring together this knowledge and apply it to key chemical process relevant to life: respiration, photosynthesis and signalling.

To provide information about biochemically important aspects of the chemistry of proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and lipids, using appropriate examples. This includes organic, inorganic and physical chemistry aspects of biomolecules. Key emphasis is placed on understanding the structural principles that govern reactivity/physical properties of molecules as opposed to learning structural detail. The emphasis is on knowledge at the atomic level.

Students should:

• Have knowledge of the structure/conformational freedom of biomolecules, e.g. proteins, DNA/RNA, carbohydrates and key metabolites/co-factors, e.g., be able to draw and recognize key structures such as the 20 amino acids, 5 nucleotides and major metabolites
• Understand and demonstrate how the structure of biomolecules determines their chemical properties and reactivity
• Draw molecules and reaction mechanisms, understand and propose site-directed mutagenesis experiments aimed at elucidating mechanism
• Understand biochemistry at the atomic level.

Students will be invited to test their knowledge via blackboard multiple choice tests. These will span the various main topics: basic chemistry; organic chemistry; metals in biology; physical chemistry; overview lectures. In each case, the test assessment will be available immediately after the last lecture of that topic. Immediate feedback is given when answers are incorrect. Assessments remain open during the lecture course and students can retake them as many times as they want.

The listed text book is recommended. Earlier editions also contain the relevant material.

• Voet & Voet, Biochemistry, 4^th edition, 2011, Wiley.

Tuition fees for home students will be £10,050 for the 2027/28 academic year. In England and Wales, tuition fees for home undergraduate students are subject to the Government fee cap, which the Government has announced will be £10,050 for the 2027/28 academic year.

Government policy is to increase the fee cap on an annual basis to reflect inflation (i.e. increasing costs), and the tuition fee home students pay in subsequent academic years will reflect any increases in the Government fee cap (which we will communicate to you as soon as we can in advance of the relevant academic year).

Tuition fees for international students will be £38,000 for the 2027/28 academic year. For subsequent academic years, the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fee by up to 7% each year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our education and wider student experience.

For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Tuition fees are considerably lower for your placement year. Please see the fees page for full details.

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Students participating in placements outside the UK may be able to apply for funding from the UK's Turing scheme depending on eligibility. Priority will be given to students from low income households.