Precision Medicine (with Specialisms)

The Precision Medicine (with Specialisms) program of the University of Glasgow is designed to directly meet research demands in the NHS, industry and academia where there is a need for scientists with both biological knowledge and the computational, statistical, analytical, and practical skills to drive precision medicine.

Key facts

• Be a part of the next generation of scientists responsible for creating new diagnostic tests and new tailored therapies to aid earlier diagnosis and optimal treatment for patients suffering from cancer, cardiovascular or inflammatory disease.

• With the Precision Medicine (with Specialisms) program of the University of Glasgow you can study specialisms in cancer, cardiovascular or inflammatory disease.

• Focus on employability skills, precision diagnostics / therapeutics and 'big data'.

• Seminars from world class leaders in field from around the world, including academics, industry experts, and NHS experts (e.g. Professor Calum MacRae, Ken Sutherland, Harper van Steenhouse, David Brunton, Marian McNeil, Claire Orange, Prof Dame Dominiczak, Prof Andrew Biankin, Professor Iain McInnes, etc)

• Gain skills and experience to allow you to become an outstanding researcher in this field, working towards pre-emptive, predictive, personalised and participatory medicine.

• Be part of developing new diagnostic tests and new tailored therapies to aid earlier diagnosis and optimal treatment for patients suffering from cancer, cardiovascular disease or inflammatory disease.

• Expand your understanding of these diseases to enable the identification of the molecular causes and ultimately support the development of novel, more precisely targeted treatments in these areas.

• Utilise cutting-edge facilities, research and teaching experience at the University of Glasgow and Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

• Advantage of being at the centre of several important centres for precision medicine including Stratified Medicine Scotland, Innovation Centre, Imaging Centre of Excellence and Sir Henry Wellcome Functional Genomics Facility.

• Experience a true representation of what goes on in the field of Precision Medicine that directly links back to the patients’ needs since these centres and facilities are currently used by industry, academia and the NHS.

• Precision Medicine is a multi-billion pound industry globally and Scotland is a pioneering nation in this field because of our 'triple helix' links to the NHS, academia and industry partnership, giving you great networking and career options.

Career prospects

This program will provide an excellent background for those looking to establish a career in biomedical research in academia, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in the precision medicine field and clinical sciences in the NHS.

Other opportunities lie in the area of clinical trials and research management.

Students gain training to work in “wet” or “dry” laboratories. The program offers a laboratory skills course which will equip students with the basic research skills they need to work in a “wet” laboratory setting and training in bioinformatics to equip students with necessary skills for the data sciences or computational sectors.

Students also have the opportunity to do projects in the research institutes of their chosen specialism.

Example job titles include:

• research associate

• project manager

• trainee clinical vascular scientist (NHS)

• medical recruiter, scientist - IPS cells

• data scientist

• research practitioner (NHS)

• medical writer

• field application scientist

Some graduates have went on to study for PhDs in fields such as medicine (inflammation and repair), biotechnology, precision medicine, immunology, and cardiovascular science. One or two graduates have also progressed on to graduate entry routes to medicine.

Courses include:

• Applied Pharmacogenomics & Molecular Medicine
• Bioinformatics Using R For Biologists
• Hallmarks Of Cancer
• Pharmacogenomics & Molecular Medicine - Fundamentals Of Molecular Medicine
• Precision Diagonostics And Therapeutics
• Precision Medicine Research Project