Research Theme Sessions & Journal Club

During Research Theme Sessions and Journal Club students will enhance their critical thinking skills.

Weekly Programme Research Theme and Skills sessions, as well as the weekly CRM Journal Club, are an important component of the programme. Throughout the academic year IRR Group Leaders will facilitate Research Theme Sessions, which typically last 3-4 weeks. Each theme will centre around a topic relevant to regenerative medicine and tissue repair. Examples from previous years are:

  • Cancer Stem Cells
  • Clinical Translation
  • Tissue Damage & Repair
  • Stem Cells, Development & Cell Identity
  • Tissue Stem Cell Systems
  • scRNAseq
  • Microscopy & imaging

During Research Theme sessions the host typically provides an overview of their research area, with plenty time for discussion.

The specific format of a session is flexible and left to the host’s preferred arrangement.

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PG discussion group

Learning outcomes of Research Theme sessions and Journal Clubs

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PG paper discussion group
  • Critical review skills. The Research Theme sessions will teach you how to critically analyse scientific literature.
  • Academic knowledge. Through in-depth discussion of research papers on a range of biomedical topics you will widen your scientific knowledge.
  • Exposure to research labs. Working with a range of researchers who are experts in a variety of biomedical themes and research disciplines exposes you to areas of research that may be new to you. You will have the chance to find out more about the research approaches employed by the different labs, and you can discuss research projects which group hosts may be offering.
  • Peer support and collaboration. In addition to furthering your academic knowledge and skills, the discussion groups offer you a chance to regularly meet up with, and work  together with, your peers.
  • Career planning. The exposure to a range of labs and research topics will allow you to reflect on personal research interests and your studies and career direction.  

Being an MScR student in this programme is allowing me to challenge my comfort zone and gain new perspectives when it comes to scientific research.

Jose Covas Lima Cabral De Campos
MScR Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Repair, 2021/2022.