Human Physiology
BSc in Human Physiology
From the organ to the molecule, physiology helps understand how the body works - and what's happening if it doesn't.
Contacts
Course Co-ordinator
Dr Anne King
Faculty of Biological Sciences
Email: a.e.king@leeds.ac.uk
Admissions enquiries
Maureen Cummings
01133434226
Email: m.cummings@leeds.ac.uk
Overview
Physiology is the discipline that underpins modern medicine and this is reflected in our programme. The emphasis of our research-led teaching is on how the body copes with the normal demands we place upon it during everyday life. We also study how body systems go wrong in diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and neurodegeneration. Our approach is an integrative one, ranging from how whole organs work and interact to control body functions, down to the molecular mechanisms operating within cells.
Objectives
The objective of the intercalated B.Sc. is to teach you about Physiology as an experimental science. You will focus on selected topics within physiology. The topics reflect the research strengths within the Faculty of Biological Sciences and this means that you will be taught by experts. You will learn about each topic at the research level. This means that much of the information provided will not yet have appeared in Physiology textbooks, monographs, or reviews and you will have to read scientific papers. During the course of the year, you will not only learn about these topics in depth, you will also learn how physiology is investigated: you will learn about the philosophy of experimental science, how to design and carry out experiments, how to analyse data and write reports, and how new science is published and broadcast to the rest of the scientific community. In the second semester you will have the opportunity of putting this theory to the test by carrying out an individual, original research project. The intercalated B.Sc. in Physiology therefore involves a mixture of formal teaching and personal project work that will equip you with key transferable skills invaluable for your subsequent career.
Content of the course
Full details of the course, credit ratings and timing of available modules are available in the programme catalogue. The course is modular with students taking modules to a total value of 120 credits.
An important element of the intercalated B.Sc. in Physiology is, of course, the research project. Throughout the second semester you may carry out an original research project supervised by a member of staff. If you chose to do a research project you will be allocated one from those available. We cannot guarantee that your will be allocated your first choice. The research project may be in a research laboratory, or may be a survey or teaching project. During a laboratory research project you will be supervised by a member of staff and you will be taught how to use the state-of-the-art equipment, carry out the experiments and analyse the data. Although you will be given guidance on the design of the experiments, you will be encouraged to think for yourselves and design your own experiments. You should not be concerned that a laboratory project will fail - we would not allow that to happen. Some undergraduate projects, which have produced novel and important findings, have been published in well respected scientific journals (however, because of the nature of original research, we cannot guarantee that all projects will be publishable).
Assessment
You are assessed in two ways. Depending on which modules you take, approximately two-thirds of your final mark will come from the module exams, which you will sit in January (semester 1 exam period) and May (semester 2 exam period). The remaining third of your final mark will come from course work during the year - including the research project.
