IBSc Clinical Sciences - The Clinical Research Project (Module CLCS3901)

From 2012-13 the clinical research project will constitute 1.5 units and will therefore account for 37.5% of the final degree mark. There are three stages to the assessment, each of which will contribute to the total, albeit with different weightings, viz:

  • Written report 65%
  • Presentation & viva 15%
  • Supervisor’s report 20%

Projects Undertaken in 2006/2007

  • M2-pyruvate kinase (M2-PK) in the diagnosis of biliary tract cancer
  • Advanced electroencephalogram analysis in hepatic encephalopathy
  • Ethanol pharmacokinetics and body composition in Asian men
  • Smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements in patients with cirrhosis
  • Depot injectable steroids in pain management
  • Slow release starches for nutritional supplementation in liver disease

Projects Undertaken in 2007/2008

  • Factors affecting the outcome in traumatic brain injury
  • Regulation of adipose Interleukin-6 in obesity
  • Death in scleroderma: do new treatments unmask hidden complications?
  • Validation of a new method for the diagnosing hepatic encephalopathy
  • Activation of the P2X system in association with uroepithelial inflammation
  • The effects of alcohol on peripheral nerve conduction

Projects Undertaken in 2008/2009

  • Novel biomarkers in the diagnosis of biliary tract cancer
  • Impaired glucose tolerance and metformin in obesity in children
  • Gender differences in the ADMA/DDAH pathway and the effects on adipose tissue physiology
  • Deranged muscarinic neurotransmission in overactive bladder
  • The diagnostic efficacy of the Sternberg paradigm in hepatic encephalopathy
  • Pulmonary hypertension in sickle cell disease and the potential role of nitric oxide in its pathophysiology
  • Assessment of body composition in obese adolescent
  • Assessment of a new computer analysis algorithm in patients with myasthenia gravis

Projects Undertaken in 2009/2010

  • An investigation of vitamin D and its association with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritic disease
  • Cloning and expression of SCAP cytoplasmic domain
  • The relationship between serum PARC, exacerbation frequency and inflammatory markers in stable patients with COPD
  • In vivo elastic scattering spectroscopy in the diagnosis of pacreaticobiliary malignancy
  • Long term consequences of birth order on health: a study of first borns versus later borns
  • Optimizing analysis of the EEG in hepatic encephalopathy
  • Sleep and the sleep deprived electroencephalogram in patients with cirrhosis
  • Investigation of the Beta 3 andrenoceptor as a potential anti-fibrotic pathway in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Projects Undertaken in 2010/2011

  • An investigation into the structural basis by which Dengue virus inhibits the innate immune response
  • Procalcitonin and other viomarkers in bronchiectasis
  • Development of novel diagnostic markers and therapies for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas
  • Association of birth order and growth variability with adult body composition and metabolism in young South Asian women
  • Diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy – the search for a gold standard
  • Maximising the efficacy of the EEG for diagnosis and management of epilepsy
  • Association between body composition, body proportions and lung function in young Black children
  • A novel analytical method for the diagnosis of paediatric myasthenia using stimulated single fibre electromyography
  • Cardiovascular risk assessment in South Asian patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis using risk scores, pulse wave analysis and carotid ultrasound
  • Hepatitis C virus-related encephalopathy: objective evidence from an EEG study

Projects Undertaken in 2011/2012

  • The prevalence of hepatic encephalopathy in patients with cirrhosis post-TIPS and its pre-procedure prediction
  • Arterial calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease
  • Pancreatic steatosis
  • How much information does video of clinical events add to the electroencephalogram (EEG) and vice versa?
  • Investigating the aetiology of systemic autoimmune ANCA associated vasculitis
  • Use of immunohistochemistry to confirm protein expression of genes identified using whole genome RNA expression profiling of ERCP biliary brushings in biliary tract cancer
  • Alcoholic liver disease – histology
  • Appraisal of a new system for the analysis of the EEG in patients with hepatic encephalopathy
  • A rationally attenuated vaccine and anti-viral drugs for Dengue fever – targeting the STAT2-NS5, host-pathogen interaction
  • Role of endosomal toll-like receptors in keratinocyte activation by systemic sclerosis autoantibodies