Trinity College Dublin’s MSc in Translational Oncology Wins Best New Course Award
Posted on: 08 May 2014
The MSc in Translational Oncology, offered by Trinity College Dublin’s School of Medicine, was awarded Best New Course 2014 at the Grad Ireland Postgraduate Course of the Year Awards on April 30th. The Grad Ireland judges deemed the programme to have an “excellent mentoring structure, with a great balance between research and practice in a vital knowledge area, good career guidance and deep learning outcomes of local, national and international significance”.
The first of its kind in Ireland, the MSc in Translational Oncology focuses on the area of translational oncology, which describes the translation of scientific discoveries into therapies or “the bench to bedside approach”. Students have the unique opportunity to engage with lecturers from industry, clinical specialities and health economists, so they are aware of what is required to get scientific discoveries to the next level. A central part of the course is the three-month research placement, where the students undertake an oncology based project from a large selection of universities, hospital and industry sectors.
The course is broken down into eight core modules covering the fundamentals of cancer biology and six optional modules, from which the students select four, that focus on emerging hot topics in research oncology. The choice of optional modules allows students to tailor the course to their interests, either scientific or clinical. The evolving nature of the field means that the course is constantly being updated and student feedback has highlighted the relevance of the lectures, with research findings often communicated within months of their discovery. This ensures that course material is always fresh, relevant and state of the art.
Speaking of her experience on the MSc in Translational Oncology 2013, student Hannah Moran said: “I would recommend this course to anyone who has an interest in learning more about the biology of cancer and where cutting-edge research is in the field. I found it an excellent course for preparing me for future work in this area.”
“The M.Sc. in Translational oncology has helped me develop innovative and effective research skills, with a vision of revolutionising this field of medical science and amalgamate this knowledge with clinical medicine”, stated Indian student Dr Anand Singh.
MSc in Translational Oncology course committee accepting their award for best new course 2014. From left to right: Gradireland Commercial Manager Gavan O’Brien, Course co-ordinator Dr Joanne Lysaght, Course co-ordinator Dr Jacintha O’Sullivan, Course Director Dr Graham Pidgeon and VP of operations at Boston Scientific, Tom Mangan.