Biomedical research, applications and many clinical tools are underpinned by modern spectroscopic and imaging techniques. These serve as valuable analytical tools for routine monitoring, diagnosis and prognosis as well as aids to therapeutic intervention such as surgery, transplants, and regular treatments. This module will introduce the key physical principles of different techniques used for spectroscopic and imaging measurements. Based on these principles, the emphasis will be on the applications of relevant techniques to biomedical research and clinical practice, which interrogate various properties of materials and provide information ranging from the molecular to the structural level. Thus they also provide information at different length scales from nano (nm) to macro (m). In this context state-of-the-art developments and applications in spectroscopy, microscopy, super-resolution and large-scale (whole body) imaging will be discussed, including biomedical imaging modalities applied in daily clinical practice. The sessions (lectures, discussion groups and workshops) as well as the lab visits within this module will be offered at the University of Southampton and the Southampton General Hospital by basic and clinical researchers across different disciplines, within the Faculties of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Engineering and the Environment, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Medicine.
This course is designed to illustrate the ways in which the theoretical principles of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology presented in previous courses can be applied to yield important commercial or therapeutic products or processes.
Biometrics is about how we can recognise people automatically, by personal characteristic. We all have fingerprints and faces - and they are unique. We have to sense the information, process it and then deliver an assessment of the identity associated with that data. That's what this course is about: it's about electronics, computer science, maths, and pattern recognition. It assumes you have numerate skills, and can program a computer in some way. The course does rely much on computer vision, as most biometrics technologies are based on computer vision. Some grounding in this will be part of the course. You might choose to take this course if you are interested in cutting edge technology, much of which is still in a research stage, which whilst benefitting, even challenges the way society operates. The course will be given by Mark Nixon who has been involved in biometrics from its infancy, and who has pioneered biometrics technologies (gait, ear and soft...... yes "soft"), all at Southampton. The course has evolved from many professional courses, professional tutorials (IEEE/IAPR etc) and from the many keynote/ plenary lectures that I (Mark) have given over the years. The course will be challenging, but also should be a very interesting and enjoyable introduction to an area of topical interest worldwide.
This module introduces you to the scope of health psychology as an academic and applied branch of psychology. We explore patterns and causes of health and ill-health and examine a selection of major theoretical models. Key questions that we examine include: What is health psychology and why is it important? What is health and how can we measure it? How do psychological factors such as behaviour, personality, and social support influence health?
Within this module you will be encouraged to reflect on your role as an audiology healthcare professional and the experiences of hearing impaired people beyond simply considering the changes to the functions and structures of the auditory system. Central to this module is the international definitions and classifications for functioning, disability and health (ICF). Within that context, we will consider questions such as how health conditions can affect us and what it means to live with a health condition. In particular, you will learn about (1) how an individual’s health condition can lead to changes in body structure/function, to activity limitations and to participation restrictions; and (2) how those are affected by contextual factors including personal factors. We will explore other health conditions/states that can be associated with hearing loss, the role of personal values/choices and the physical, social, cultural, attitudinal and health policy environment in which people live and conduct their lives, with a particular focus on Deaf culture. These issues will be considered both within the current state of audiological healthcare as well as looking forward to future developments in audiological science, considering how these will impact our current understanding of living with health disability and functioning in the context of the ICF. In order to achieve that, we will explore a broad range of issues related to biology (including relevant anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of the human body, from the cellular level to the level of whole body systems), health psychology, sociology, public health, health ethics and beyond! This module together with Introduction to Hearing Science & Technology also includes a series of sessions on academic skills across the year in order to support you make the transition to undergraduate study in a scientific discipline.
The aim of this module is to provide third year students with an introduction to commercialization of biosciences. The current focus is on the process of drug discovery, the subsequent management of clinical trials and marketing of commercial drug products. The main topics will include the scientific rationale and justification of novel targets and the associated assay development and experimental design to show efficacy of such a target. In addition, the module will provide further guidance and information on pharmacokinetics, regulatory affairs, clinical trial design, intellectual property and business planning to make a chosen target commercially viable. At the end of the module student will be able to address the following questions: What makes a good drug and how to produce, protect and get a drug to the market?
The students will be expected to carry out an in-depth literature review into a biological concept or topic in semester 1, and to then design an innovative educational activity to convey their research to groups of people in semester 2.
A biosensor is a device that translates a biomolecular binding event into an electrical or optical signal that can be quantified and recorded. Biosensors come in many different formats, from complicated nanofabricated mechanical transducers to simple but effective paper diagnostics such as a pregnancy test. They rely on the unique recognition properties of biomolecules, which can selectively bind their target molecule even at a high background concentration of similar molecules. Biosensors are widely used in modern medicine and essential in diagnosing disease. The module also describes the development and application of diagnostic tools for analysing blood chemistry and counting and analysing cells e.g. haematology. The module explains how biomolecules can be attached to a sensor surface. Subsequently, the working mechanism of common sensor technologies are explained. The module describes recent developments in diagnostic tools including “zero-cost” paper microfluidics, DNA sequencing, genetic analysis and single cell analytics. The commercial criteria for a successful diagnostic tool, for example for point-of-care diagnostic applications will be discussed. You will undertake a laboratory to understand how the kinetics of flow and surface reactions influence sensor performance. Throughout the module, weekly tutorials will be dedicated to analysis of articles from the scientific literature that describe the latest advances in biosensors and diagnostic systems. We will discuss the medical need for the sensor systems, principle of operation and testing strategy from a variety of articles ranging from proof of concept devices to clinical trials of commercial products.
A biosensor is a device that translates a biomolecular binding event into an electrical or optical signal that can be quantified and recorded. Biosensors come in many different formats, from complicated nanofabricated mechanical transducers to simple but effective paper diagnostics. This module introduces the core principles of biosensor design, including biomolecule immobilisation, transduction mechanisms, and the quantitative approaches used to select biomarkers and optimise sensor performance. You will also learn how quantitative and computational methods are used to design biosensor systems (for example bioinformatics for identifying protein biomarkers) and to measure diagnostic performance and support clinical decision-making. Through lectures, weekly tutorials, and a laboratory practical, you will connect theoretical concepts to real-world bio-sensing applications.
