Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Cellular and molecular medicine sits at the frontier of biomedical science, examining the mechanisms of human disease at the level at which they actually occur: inside cells, in the molecular interactions between proteins and nucleic acids, and in the signalling pathways that regulate cellular behaviour. Understanding how diseases arise at this level, from cancer and cardiovascular disease to infection and neurodegeneration, is the foundation for developing the diagnostics, drugs and therapies that can treat them. The discipline draws on cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, pathology, microbiology and pharmacology, making it one of the most rigorous and technically demanding of the biomedical sciences.
At the University of Bristol, this three-year full-time programme gives you broad training in biomedical sciences in your first year, introducing the cellular and molecular basis of human diseases alongside biochemistry, cell biology, pathology, microbiology and virology. As you progress through the degree, you will develop increasing depth and specialism, engaging with the molecular mechanisms that underlie specific disease processes, the experimental methods used to study them and the translational science that connects laboratory discoveries to clinical application. Bristol's research strengths in biomedical sciences provide a rich context for this learning, and you will encounter active research throughout your studies.
Graduates of cellular and molecular medicine programmes are well positioned for careers in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, clinical trials management, biomedical laboratory work in NHS and private settings, regulatory affairs, science communication and public health. Further study at doctoral level in molecular biology, pharmacology, cell biology, immunology or a related biomedical field is the typical route for those drawn to academic or advanced applied research careers, and Bristol's postgraduate provision in these areas provides a natural continuation.