PATHOL 3104 - Investigative Cell Biology

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2024

Investigative Cell Biology will provide students with a foundational understanding of current medical research fields and technologies available across the Faculty of Health and Medical Research at the University of Adelaide. The course has been designed to enhance your understanding of biological and pathological processes and stimulate an interest in how scientific research and methodology is applied to investigate these. ICB has been designed to enable students to develop and improve various skills such as critical thinking, critical evaluation and analysis as well as academic writing, time management and an understanding of planning and conducting research. Combined, complementary lecture content, workshops and assessment tasks will better prepare students for employment in research, diagnostic or clinical settings as well as postgraduate research training by enhancing their understanding of medical research in different medical disciplines. ICB is a novel and exciting course that covers several themes of research across the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Content is delivered by active University of Adelaide researchers that are nationally and internationally recognised in their fields. You will be provided with the biology and pathology background to each theme and be introduced to findings seminal and current findings in the field and their laboratories. This will be coupled with a discussion of research techniques that have been applied. Lecture content is complemented by workshops designed to provide you with a theoretical understanding of the clinical, in vivo and in vitro models and techniques used to investigate disease process and response to treatment. During workshops, you will explore the application as well as the limitations of laboratory and analytical techniques. ICB will therefore expand your knowledge around the methodology used to answer real-life research questions and develop your critical understanding of project design and result interpretation. During workshops, students may be asked to critically evaluate the information gained from and limitations of the use of a particular technique to answer research questions in scientific publications/examples. Students are expected to attend workshops (live or virtually) and be prepared to interact with the lecturer/tutors and their peers. As ICB is an ever-evolving course we do not recommend a textbook but Links to videos and examples of scientific papers will be provided to support learning and review of current pathology textbooks encouraged. Assessment components for the course are aimed at developing and improving each student's medical research understanding. Assessment tasks are given during the semester and will develop skills as a scientific researcher such as communication and critical analysis

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Course Details

Course Code	PATHOL 3104
Course	Investigative Cell Biology
Coordinating Unit	Medical Sciences
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	HLTH SC 2104 or PATHOL 2200 or PATHOL 3101
Incompatible	ANAT SC 3104
Assessment	MCQ tests (x3). Research review/proposal aligned to a course theme. Final exam-Short answer and combination questions.

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Tania Crotti

email: icb@adelaide.edu.au

(remove eleni.tsangari@adelaide.edu.au)

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

This course has been designed to support you to achieve course learning outcomes and develop broad skills that can be used in your academic and professional work.

Explain how the structures at the level of cells, tissues and organs relate to their overall function in both health and disease states
Understand the application and limitations of models and techniques used in medical research
Interpret experimental results in a medical research setting
Critically evaluate medical research findings
Assemble a range of medical scientific literature and identify gaps or contention in the field
Communicate medical research findings in written and oral format

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Attribute 1: Deep discipline knowledge and intellectual breadth Graduates have comprehensive knowledge and understanding of their subject area, the ability to engage with different traditions of thought, and the ability to apply their knowledge in practice including in multi-disciplinary or multi-professional contexts.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Attribute 2: Creative and critical thinking, and problem solving Graduates are effective problems-solvers, able to apply critical, creative and evidence-based thinking to conceive innovative responses to future challenges.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Attribute 3: Teamwork and communication skills Graduates convey ideas and information effectively to a range of audiences for a variety of purposes and contribute in a positive and collaborative manner to achieving common goals.	1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Attribute 4: Professionalism and leadership readiness Graduates engage in professional behaviour and have the potential to be entrepreneurial and take leadership roles in their chosen occupations or careers and communities.	1, 2, 6
Attribute 5: Intercultural and ethical competency Graduates are responsible and effective global citizens whose personal values and practices are consistent with their roles as responsible members of society.	2,6
Attribute 6: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competency Graduates have an understanding of, and respect for, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values, culture and knowledge.	1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6
Attribute 7: Digital capabilities Graduates are well prepared for living, learning and working in a digital society.	4,5,6
Attribute 8: Self-awareness and emotional intelligence Graduates are self-aware and reflective; they are flexible and resilient and have the capacity to accept and give constructive feedback; they act with integrity and take responsibility for their actions.	1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

No text book required. All lecture material is examinable and where possible URL links and references will be provided for additional information to support the content.

Online Learning

Please bring laptop/ipad to workshops for active participation and online quizzes.
Lectures will be uploaded as PDFs and recording will be available through CANVAS.
Notify cooridnators if you need support in accessing a lap top.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Course structure and expectations

Face to face lectures – this course benefits from the real time delivery of content. Academic staff and affiliates from the all the disciplines within the School of Medical Science will be used to deliver lectures specific to cell biology, and current research techniques for investigations. These lectures are supported by workshops/tutorials, whereby smaller groups of students will learn more about techniques and their application.
Face to face lectures offer synchronous learning opportunities and enable students to quickly clarify complex descriptions and terminology.
As much of the content for this course is NOT supported by textbooks we support the audio and video capture of lecture content as an aid to revision and for those unable to attend.

Workshops/Tutorials – weekly sessions will enable research discovery and peer interaction as we explore the application and limitations of techniques.

Discussion board – use of the course discussion board is encouraged as will provide an interactive portal for students to post questions that may be of common interest to the group.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

This is a 3 unit course, and we expect that students should be spending;
2 hours per week attending/listening to lectures
1 hour in class workshops/tutorials (including reading and writing)
2 hours per week on revision for tests and examinations and prep for workshops.
1-2 hrs per week on semester long assignment

Learning Activities Summary

Investigative Cell Biology has been designed to enable students to develop and improve various skills such as critical thinking, critical
evaluation and analysis as well as academic writing, time management andan understanding of planning and conducting research.

Lectures:
Several themes and will be presented by internationally recognised researchers from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.
Each theme will have a biology and pathology background component introducing students to the lecturers' field of research.
This will be followed by review and discussion of research techniques and findings in their research fields and laboratories.

Tutorials/workshops:
Will be smallar group activities with an emphasis on the theory and process of current techniques/models, including the application of
the method, via videos and examples from scientific ppr.
In workshops students may be asked to critically evaluate the information gained from and limitations of the use of particular technique to answer research questions in scientific publications/examples.
Students are expected to come along to workshops and be encouraged to interact with the lecturer/tutors and other students.

Online tests throughout the course will be an opportunity to revise and inteegrate information from the lecture and workshop material presented in previous few week. They are designed to break down learning in preparation for the end of semester test,

This course will stimulate an interest in biological and pathological processes and how scientific research and methodology investigates
these.
Each of the different assessment components is aimed at
developing and improving each student's research skills.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Weighting %	Learning Outcome(s) addressed
Online tests (2 x 15%)	Summative	30%	1, 3
Research Proposal Outline	Formative	5%	4, 5, 6
Research Proposal	Formative	15%	4, 5, 6
End-of-Semester Examination	Summative	50%	1, 2, 3, 6

Assessment Detail

Open Book Online Test through CANVAS- To encourage revision and break down learning of key concepts

These will be completed during your workshop
Bring electronic device to be able to log on

Extended Review
Small Group Discovery Experience (SGDE)
Investigative Cell Biology runs semester long small group projects, which can be considered a “Small Group Discovery Experience”. Students will work in small groups of two or three and will be matched with a topic provided by an experienced research active senior academic for the duration of the semester.
This enables students to research literature around the pathology and research findings in the field with theoretical concepts and provide additional opportunities to clarify complex procedures, descriptions and terminology.
The review will extend skills by encouraging students to identify gaps in research areas and propose aims and ways to investigate these.

End of Semester Exam (50% of final grade)
There will be a two hour theory examination for this subject.
Important information about exams that all students should be aware of can be found at

www.adelaide.edu.au/student/current/exams/
Tests and examinations will be graded using marks.

Questions in the written theory paper will be based on material covered in the lectures and workshops. The examination aims to examine the depth of a student’s understanding of the topics that have been covered during the semester. The total possible mark for the exam will be specified on the test / examination. Marks for individual questions in the examination will be stated on the question paper.

The marks give a guide as to how much you should write in your answer. Do not assume that, for example, 3
marks means that only 3 points/facts must be covered in the answer. Three marks just means that you need not give as much, or as detailed, information as for a 10 mark question.

Course Learning outcome:

Identify current and emerging research techniques in human health and disease
Explain how the structures at the level of cells, tissues and organs relate to their overall function in both healthy and disease states
University attributes

Deep discipline knowledge
Critical thinking and problem solving

Submission

Submission of a dot plan of the review via MyUni to encourage early collaboration within groups and enable feedback and clarification around the topic and content.

Submission of Research review via Turnitin in MyUni.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

In 2018, the Bachelor of Health/Medical Sciences Program changed to incorporate research projects for all students to be run centrally. As such, course design and assessments were required to undergo major modifications as we could no longer offer a lab-based project as part of the experience in PATHOL3104.
Assessment tasks have been revised in response to feedback on load and in response to changes in the program and research experience management.

The workshops were introduced in 2018. They are designed to complement lecture material across the course and expand on a student's understanding of ethical practise, application and information gained by current research techniques as well as the limitations of techniques.
·
Ethics workshop-relates to all research discussed over the course of semester

Animal well being and behaviour-relates to all studies using animals in all fields of research

Imaging analysis-relates to not only musculoskeletal but cancer research

Protein analysis and biomarkers- optimal biomarkers design and implementation is critical to reliable diagnosis and prognosis in the clinic
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator