In the minor Medical Biology, we will focus on all the biological processes that occur in the human body. You will learn in more detail about the pathways in a variety of cells and their different biological properties.

In the theoretical modules you will for instance go into the two major pathways for triggering the blood clotting cascade, the pathology of our kidneys and livers and how autoimmunity and vaccines work.

Besides the theoretical modules, there is a large project in the laboratory. These projects differ from student to student, but are strongly linked to ongoing health-related research at the Research Centre Biobased Economy (RCBBE). Examples are the development of cell-based bioassays, antimicrobial activity of anthocyanins and the
study of signal transduction pathways linked to cancer development. As a student, you are involved in the setup and implementation of a small research project in close collaboration with researchers from our institute, companies and research centres involved.

What will you learn?

What will you learn?

- Detailed theoretical background on various topic linked to medical biology

- Applying knowledge about medical biology towards a real-life research project

- Experience in practical research in the field of medical biology

- Project management: Working together with students from different backgrounds

Laboratory Courses:
During the laboratory courses you will be working on a research project, most probably linked to ongoing at the Hanze University op Applied Sciences. In other words, you will be working for a client. This client can have a specific research question, but the content of the project might also not be that clear. This means that part of the assignment is actually setting up the research project, developing a research plan, finding and developing protocols and then execute the experiments. The projects are done in couples and will be supervised by a teacher. Therefore, knowledge of and practical experience in working with various (biomedical) analytical methods, such as SDS-PAGE, Elisa’s, Cell culturing techniques or PCR are a prerequisite to start this minor.

Cell Biology 2:
The subject Cell Biology 2 focuses on the animal cell as the smallest specific unit of a tissue and/or a multicellular organism. This module aims to gain insight into the cell biological and molecular mechanisms that translate extracellular influences into intracellular signals and subsequently into a cellular response. Hereby the learned pathways in cell biology 1 within cell biology 2 are explained in scientific literature.

Based on research articles and scientific reviews, the students, under the supervision of the teacher, will develop these processes into a real lesson in a flip-the-classroom setting. The exact topics will be as close as possible to the topics that will be treated during the practical theme 11. The students work together on the articles via learning tools interoperability module (LTI module) and annotation program Perusall.

Pathology
In this course we will discuss the pathology of several organ systems. Basic pathology, as discussed in Pathology 1, is assumed to be known. Based on several medical cases, we will discuss the anatomy and (dys)function of the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, liver, kidneys, intestine, and endocrine pancreas.

Hematology
In this Hematology course we will discuss the formation of blood cells (hemopoiesis) and their roles in health and disease. The focus in Hematology, part I, will be on myeloid cells and leukemia. The focus in Hematology, part II, will be on the formation of erythrocytes & platelets and diseases due to anemia and defects in blood clotting. Lectures on all topics will be provided as well as practice problems. In addition, students will prepare and give a presentation to the class on selected scientific articles on hematology. For this, students will form small groups, each group giving a presentation on one article.

Clinical Immunology
Immune responses are normally elicited to remove foreign agents from the body. In some cases, however, the immune system reacts very violently to certain environmental compounds (e.g., allergic reactions) or turns against the host itself (autoimmune diseases). These pathological immune responses are central to Clinical Immunology. In this module, also vaccine development and the mucosal immune system will be discussed. 

Third of fourth year's students for the Bachelor's of Applied Sciences Universities. In general all medical  sciences related course programmes such as BML (Biology and Medical Laboratory Research) are admissible. You must have at least 2 years lab experience in higher vocational education in Biology and be able to display sufficient knowledge, skills and aptitude in the areas of Cell Biology, DNA, RNA and protein.

Mandatory or optional literature of each individual course can be found in the online course guides of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences.

The courses are scheduled in the third and fourth quarter and starting in the second week of February. The Laboratory Courses are mandatory.

Term 1 Medical Biology
Laboratory Course module 11 (8 EC) - report + skills + poster
Pathology 2 (3 EC) - written exam + assignments during lectures
Cell Biology 2 (3 EC) - assignments during lectures
Academic Counselling 1 (1 EC) - report

Term 2 Medical Biology
Laboratory Course module 12 (7 EC) - report + skills + presentation
Hemathology (5 EC) - written exam
Clinical Immunology (3 EC) - written exam