2023/24 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue
MEDM5132M Cardiovascular Health, Disease and Diabetes: Basics and Beyond
30 creditsClass Size: 30
Module manager: Piruthivi Sukumar
Email: p.sukumar@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2023/24
Pre-requisite qualifications
Identical entry requirements to the MSc / PGDip in Cardiovascular Health and DiseaseThis module is not approved as an Elective
Module summary
This module will provide insights into the cardiovascular system and diabetes- starting with basic anatomy and physiology and proceeding to pathology and management. Emphasis will be on recent advances in the understanding, diagnostics and therapeutic innovations within the domains of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The course will provide students with the necessary knowledge for cardiovascular orientated careers in research, industry or healthcare.Objectives
The major objectives of this module are to gain comprehensive understanding in:1. Cardiovascular biology and glucose regulation
2. Different types of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) including disorders of blood and role of diabetes in CVD
3. Key pathways and mechanisms of CVD
4. Recent advances in CVD diagnosis and management
The course is teaching based and therefore students will learn through traditional lectures, tutorials and 2 practical sessions along with research seminars delivered by renowned Professors in the cardiovascular field. Assessment will be through a combination of written assignments and an oral presentation.
Learning outcomes
1. Demonstrate an in-depth, specialist knowledge and sophisticated understanding of Cardiovascular Health and Disease through learning, literature research and discussion;
2. Evaluate current advancements and trends in cardiovascular research and how these are applied to the understanding of diseases and clinical management;
3. Relate how knowledge of the cardiovascular system at a mechanistic level is translated into clinical research and practice;
4. Critically evaluate research publications and findings within the fields;
5. Recognise the complexity of the research in the field and formulate research questions and design work plans to answer them;
6. Demonstrate practical familiarity with the specific themes/methodologies/techniques used in cardiovascular research;
7. Generate presentations on specific topics within the field for both scientific and lay audiences (seminar).
Skills outcomes
This 30-credit module is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the field – from basics to recent advances and thus aims to develop the following specific skills:
- Learning, understanding and inferring subject-specific knowledge
- Critical evaluation of the research in the field
- Design solutions to real-life problems based on the acquired knowledge and literature research
- Communication of learning, ideas and inference through written reports, exam and oral presentation.
Syllabus
The student will undertake a 300 hours module that will be timetabled in the first 2 semesters of the program.
The module will begin by describing the fundamental concepts of the cardiovascular system, function and health. The module will have 4 strands – heart, blood vessels, blood and diabetes; during the first semester the physiology of all these parts will be covered. The teaching will start with a generic overview and then go deeper into molecular physiology and clinical aspects. The second semester will be devoted to learning the abnormalities and the recent advances in the understanding and management of CVD. Guest seminars (not included in the assessment) on specific advanced aspects of the said field will be delivered by leading researchers of LICAMM and FBS. The generic topics covered by each strand are given in the table below.
Strand - Topics
Heart - Cardiac development, structure, cardiac function, adaptations, failure and rhythm disturbances
Blood Vessels - Physiology and structure, embryology, blood pressure, and diseases including atherosclerosis, hypertension and venous disorders
Blood - Haemostasis, blood components, bleeding & clotting disorders, immune diseases and malignancies
Diabetes - Pancreas and glucose regulation, diabetes and its complications and CV effects of diabetes
In addition, there will be 2 practical sessions and they consist of:
1. Students will study exercise physiology parameters such as ECG, blood pressure, muscle oxygenation, blood sugar and lactate levels. These measurements will be done under normoxia and hypoxia, illustrating the body’s response to medical conditions such as asthma and anaemia where blood oxygenation is compromised.
2. Computer based session to teach basic bioinformatics skills to the students using example cases/diseases. Students will be shown and guided to practice exploring gene/protein databases, mutation identification and analysis and also introduced to an array of online tools and databases available in this area.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Student-led discussion | 2 | 2.50 | 5.00 |
| Lectures | 20 | 1.50 | 30.00 |
| Tutorials | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
| Guest lecture | 5 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Practical | 2 | 2.00 | 4.00 |
| Independent online learning hours | 20.00 | ||
| Private study hours | 226.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 54.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300.00 | ||
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
The students will be provided with feedback during the tutorial session and after the student seminar sessions. The written assignment work, which forms a part of the assessment, will be administered in a phased manner (one in first semester and another in the second). The students will receive written feedback from the first formal assessment which will help them for the second/final assessment. Throughout the course the student will be given guidance from the program/module leads and individual lecturers.Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Literature Review | 3000 words | 45.00 |
| Report | Report on solution for specific issue/problem - 2000 words | 45.00 |
| Oral Presentation | 10 mins presentation plus 5 mins questions to scientists/ clinicians | 10.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100.00 | |
The students will have the opportunity to submit the literature review at the end of semester 1 for feedback. The students will give the oral presentation of the solution/discussion they have developed for the 2nd written assignment and discuss it to receive feedback on their report and presentation. There is no compensation between assessments as students need to meet all learning outcomes.
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 28/04/2023 14:59:23
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