Module manager: John Ladbury
Email: j.e.ladbury@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
Successful completion of Year One (Level 4) in a relevant programme
Cell biology of disease (MICR2120) Biological membranes and cell signalling (BIOL2210) Chemotherapy (BIOL2212 – non-cancer content will go into our new ‘Medical Microbiology’ module)
This module is not approved as a discovery module
The Fundamentals of Cell and Cancer Biology module provides a comprehensive overview of the molecular and cellular features that contribute to the disease that globally affects more than 20 million new patients every year. The general synopsis of the module is to provide students with foundational knowledge and understanding of: - Human cell biology as a discipline - The molecular/biological basis of human cancers - Therapeutic approaches to human cancers The module is designed to initially provide the student with a detailed background to normal cell function. This will constitute a reductionist approach to looking at the workings of the cell. Each functional element within the cell will be taken in turn and detail on the components and their function will be explained. In this way the student will gain an appreciation of the modus operandi of all of the important structures and organelles and learn how they work together to maintain normal cell function. Following this the lectures focus on the events that lead to a normal cell taking on the characteristics of cancer. This includes the initiation and development of cancer cells within normal tissue. Lectures will cover genetic as well as cancer promotion features and include viral sources of the disease. Detail will be provided on the molecular basis of pathogenic intracellular signalling, oncogenes and tumour suppressors. The modules will then expand to look at important contributors to cancer pathology including metastasis, autophagy and DNA repair mechanisms. Finally, the modules will conclude with a short series of lectures on therapeutic intervention and the understanding of state-of-the art drug development to combat this disease.
The primary objective of the module is to provide learners with a high-level understanding of the human cell and how its complex components can collaborate to drive one of the major human diseases; cancer.
Thus, the module will illustrate the concepts that together constitute our current thinking about how cancer arises and how this disease should be treated in the future.
Learning activities will be focussed on in-person large-group interactive lectures. These will be supplemented with online learning resources for students to evaluate their understanding of concepts as part of their independent study. This will include revision question banks for all topics in the same style as the summative assessments.
The lectures will include multiple examples of cellular functions and how these can be hijacked to drive malignancy. There will also be extensive cross references between lectures and throughout module content to enable the student to understand how the cell fits together and functions under normal and pathological conditions.
On completion of the course the student will be conversant in the molecular and cellular biology of normal and diseased cells. This education will enable the student to appreciate how normal cell function can become aberrant. These concepts can also be overlaid with several other human pathologies.
The module also aims to foster more active engagement with the primary research literature, in preparation for Year 3 (Level 6) study; to that end, the additional reading the students are directed towards will frequently include recently-published research papers.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Describe the structure and function of key cellular components and processes that maintain normal cell function, including organelles and intracellular signalling pathways.
2. Explain the molecular and cellular events that drive cancer development, including genetic changes, aberrant signalling, metastasis, and immune responses.
3. Compare and contrast the structural and functional differences between normal cells and cancer cells, highlighting how cellular processes are hijacked during malignancy.
4. Evaluate the roles of intracellular signalling pathways in both normal physiology and cancer pathology, distinguishing between plasma membrane and nuclear receptor-mediated signalling.
5. Describe the mechanisms of action of current cancer therapeutics, with a focus on small-molecule therapies, and critically discuss their development, successes, and limitations.
6. Integrate knowledge of normal and cancer cell biology to explain how molecular and cellular features can be targeted for therapeutic intervention.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 33 | 1 | 33 |
| Seminar | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Private study hours | 166 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 34 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
This module will provide continual formative feedback via in-class active learning from in-person teaching. A formative coursework exercise with a timetabled feedback session will prepare students for the summative coursework exercise. Revision question banks will be provided for all topics in the same style as the end-of-module summative assessment. A revision session with a timed element and formative feedback against learning outcomes will be provided in the lead-up to the end-of-module exam.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Group presentation | 30 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 30 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Open Book exam | 2.0 Hrs Mins | 70 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 70 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 07/03/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team