MEDSCI 301 : Molecular Basis of Disease

Medical and Health Sciences

2024 Semester Two (1245) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

An in-depth analysis of the cellular and molecular basis of disease, including the role of environmental and inherited risk factors, as well as mechanisms of response to cell injury and inflammation in the disease process. A number of examples will be studied including cancer and infectious disease.

Course Overview

This course aims to study in detail the basis of disease at a cellular and molecular level. Individual disease examples will be used to illustrate how toxicants, infectious agents, genetic factors (inherited and neoplastic) as well as immune-mediated processes cause human disease. This is known as molecular pathology.

The primary delivery of material is by lectures (typically 3 per week) and there are 3 hour laboratory-based sessions every alternate week. There are also three in-class 1 hour workshop sessions.

Lectures are based around four modules with the following themes:

(A) Toxicant injury & its effect on organ function
(B) Infectious & immune mediated diseases
(C) Genetic (inherited) diseases
(D) Neoplasia (cancer)

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: MEDSCI 203

Course Contacts

Course Director
Dr Nuala Helsby, FBPhS
n.helsby@auckland.ac.nz

Course Coordinator
Dr Rachelle Singleton
r.singleton@auckland.ac.nz

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration
Capability 8: Ethics and Professionalism
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Science

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of molecular pathogenesis and the functional consequences of disease (Capability 3, 4, 5 and 6)
  2. Demonstrate ability to recognise, report and interpret key features of human diseases using terminology appropriate to the discipline (Capability 3, 4, 5 and 6)
  3. Demonstrate ability to appropriately communicate information to peers and discipline based experts (Capability 6)
  4. Be able to work in small teams to produce reliable and accurate data (Capability 7 and 8)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Final Exam 45% Individual Coursework
Test 10% Individual Coursework
Assignments 45% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4
Final Exam
Test
Assignments

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 30 hours of lectures, 15 hours of laboratory-based sessions, 3 hours of in-class workshops and a further  3 hours associated with a self-directed learning quiz. The remaining 99 hours of your commitment will be for reading and thinking about the lecture content as well as  work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including labs and workshop sessions to complete components of the course. 

Lecture attendance is expected for this course. We encourage you to use lectures as an opportunity to engage with your peers and your lecturers. Lecture recordings will be made available as an adjunct revision tool, but these recordings are not to be relied on as the sole method of learning lecture material. 

Other learning activities including labs will not be available as recordings. The course will not include live online events. 

Attendance on campus is required for coursework tests. 

The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

A number of Pathology specific learning resources, in addition to the lecture material, will be available to you during this course. These include access to the AMRF-Medical Sciences Learning Centre, virtual histopathology microscopy material and a web-based resource of Pathology material (WebPath).

Important course administration information and detailed laboratory information is provided in a coursebook (free of charge), which is to be picked up at the start of the semester and brought to all in-person laboratories. Lecture material will be available on Canvas.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

There was limited engagement with SET feedback from students in 2023. 

However, previous evaluation for this course indicated that the students were satisfied with the quality and the learning experience in MEDSCI 301.  Previous open-ended comments highlighted several things that were helpful, including the face-to-face lab sessions as well as the inter-active online assignments. The variety of topics and the highly-engaged lecturers, as well as the overall communication and learning support from the teaching team were also appreciated. We note that over the last few years, following feedback we have decreased lecture content and increased the coursework component. We have also included revision material assignments and we continue to refine our workshops and assignments. 

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

The delivery mode may change depending on COVID restrictions. Any changes will be communicated through Canvas.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.