Module manager: Professor Eric Blair
Email: G.E.Blair@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
A first degree in chemical or biological sciences
BIOL5296M - Treatment of Infectious Disease and Cancer
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module will expose students to current and emerging approaches to treating human diseases caused by infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, fungi) and cancer. In particular, this module will describe the mode of action and use of therapeutic agents, discuss their successes and limitations, and explore the process by which novel therapeutics are identified and developed. Examples of therapeutic modalities that will be covered include chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy and nucleic acid therapy.
The objectives are to provide:
- An overview of past, present and future antimicrobial and anticancer drugs
- A detailed description of their modes of action and selective toxicity of these drugs, and their success and limitations
- Insight into approaches and issues in therapeutic discovery/design
- A description of cutting-edge non-chemotherapeutic treatment modalities, including vaccination, gene/nucleic acid therapy, immunotherapy – mechanisms of action, current status and future prospects
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Comprehensively describe existing and emerging modalities available for treating infectious diseases and cancer;
2. Explain in depth the molecular mechanisms of action and selective toxicity of a range of important chemotherapeutic drugs and other therapeutic modalities;
3. Discuss critically the limitations of current treatments and the strengths and weaknesses of different therapeutic approaches;
4. Outline current approaches for discovery of novel therapeutic agents;
5. Display an appreciation for the complexity of issues relating to the development and use of novel therapeutics.
1. Analysis of research papers in depth (assessed in the Report and Paper Presentation)
2. Presentation of the data from an appropriate recent paper to the peer group (assessed in the Paper Presentation).
3. Team working on the preparation of a Powerpoint presentation; interaction with another student to generate the presentation (assessed in the Paper Presentation).
4. Critical analysis of research papers to generate a Report on current and future progress in one of the areas covered by the lectures/Workshops (assessed in the Report)
This module will expose students to current and emerging approaches to treating human diseases caused by infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, fungi) and cancer. In particular, this module will describe the mode of action and use of therapeutic agents, discuss their successes and limitations, and explore the process by which novel therapeutics are identified and developed. Examples of therapeutic modalities that will be covered include chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy and nucleic acid therapy.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Independent online learning hours | 12 | ||
| Private study hours | 119 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 19 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150 | ||
Formative feedback is given by the tutor involved in the oral presentations regarding the choice, appropriateness and quality of the paper that the students have elected to present to the class. Tutors are also available for general guidance on the preparation of the student’s talk.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Written report (2000 words) on Current State and Future Prospects for Treatment and Therapy using Anti-bacterial/Anti-viral/Gene therapeutic/Immunotherapeutic/Nucleic Acid Therapeutic/Small anticancer Molecule Agents | 70 |
| Oral Presentation | Prepared and delivered in pairs | 30 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Assessment in the form of group work will be an individual resit.
There is no reading list for this module
Last updated: 7/31/2024
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