About this degree
You will study in the internationally renowned UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre (LWENC) within the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) Queen Square, London.
The MRes programme combines theoretical and practical teaching on both the breadth of, and complexity in conducting clinical research and early phase clinical trails in neurology and neurodegenerative disease. Topics include drug development, pre-clinical to clinical research, study designs and end points, biomarker, research governance, statistics and the fundamental principle for using the correct enabling technologies within the context of medical research and clinical trials.
Who this course is for
We welcome applications from prospective students who meet our entry requirements, biology-related graduates and/or professionals working in the field of clinical trials.
What this course will give you
The programme is delivered by the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, a specialist postgraduate institute and a worldwide centre of excellence in clinical research across neurological diseases, including movement disorders (e.g. Parkinson's disease), multiple sclerosis, neuro-inflammation, epilepsy, stroke, cognitive dysfunction, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
Topics will include:
- Phases of drug development
- Pre-clinical to clinical research, with a particular focus on “First-in Human” and early phase clinical trials
- Study designs and endpoints
- Biomarkers and safety assessments in clinical trials
- Principles of Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacovigilance
- Research governance
- Medical statistics
- Fundamental principles for using the correct use of enabling technologies within the context of medical research and drug development (e.g. genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, clinical study designs, biomarkers, imaging, electrophysiology, etc.).
Students will be taught by experts in the field and have the opportunity to network with internationally recognised opinion leaders in neurology and neurodegeneration.
A list of researchers you can work with is available on the departmental website at: ucl.ac.uk/ion/research/research-centres/leonard-wolfson-experimental-neurology-centre.
By the end of the programme students will gain a thorough understanding of the challenges involved in setting up research projects, and learn how to design, implement, analyse and report clinical studies. Undertaking an extended piece of primary research alongside internationally recognised researchers is particularly attractive to students wishing to pursue doctoral or clinical research. The focus on translational neurology, from within the specialist research setting of the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre, is also of note.
