BMSC13007 - Molecular Pathophysiology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

On completion of this unit students will be able to appraise the health consequences of defects in molecular and cellular mechanisms that lead to the development of diseases such as degenerative diseases of the nervous, respiratory and cardiovascular systems, cancer, diabetes and chronic inflammation. Tissue responses to stress and regenerative healing mechanisms will be discussed. Distance education (FLEX) students will be required to have access to a computer to make frequent use of internet resources.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: BIOL12106 Molecular Biology

or

BMSC12010 Clinical Biochemistry

or

BMED19003 Clinical Biochemistry

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 1 - 2024

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Examination 40%
2. Written Assessment 60%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

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Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Course Evaluation
Feedback
'Assessment was a good learning tool'
Recommendation
Continue with similar assessment items.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Course Evaluation
Feedback
One student suggested lecture slides could be better structured.
Recommendation
Will check on slides with a view to structuring better where required.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate current theories of tumourgenicity including concepts of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes.
  2. Appraise current understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying muscular dystrophies.
  3. Review cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying degenerative diseases of the respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems.
  4. Present examples of channelopathies that result in disease.
  5. Appraise anomalies of enzyme activity responsible for pathophysiological outcomes.
  6. Appraise the role of receptor function in disease processes.
  7. Explain hypersensitivity disorders at the molecular level.
  8. Discuss effect of anomalies of synaptic transmission.
  9. Establish the effects of mitochondrial dysfunction and the relationship to oxidative stress injury.
  10. Critically evaluate the current scientific literature and present a detailed review of molecular causes of one of the above diseases.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Examination • • • • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Communication • • • • • • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • • • • • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10