CELL0005 is a library-based research project for 3rd year BSc and iBSc students in Biosciences who wish to write an in-depth dissertation in the areas covered by the Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. A detailed review of the primary research literature on a topic of interest to each student will be conducted under the individual guidance of a project supervisor. Topics will be in the areas of anatomy, cell biology, developmental biology, neuroscience or evolution. The provisional title/subject area and the supervisor has to be approved by the module organizer at the start of Term 1.

Supervisors should be members of academic staff in Cell and Developmental Biology (CDB) or Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology (NPP). However, students may consider other members of the Division of Biosciences, the Faculty of Life Sciences or elsewhere in UCL as project supervisors, although this will require approval by the CELL0005 module organizer. Information on supervisors in CDB and their fields of research is available on the departmental webpages. Individual project supervisors may require that a particular module has been studied previously and passed at a satisfactory level. They may also specify that a current module is undertaken to complement or support the project.

Completing the project will provide students with in-depth knowledge of their chosen subject area, through independent reading of original published research articles and books. The written report will have a clear aim to address or answer a particular question in the chosen field. This will be achieved by an independent literature search and a written dissertation that summarizes the relevant published experimental evidence, critically appraises that evidence and reaches an independent conclusion. There may be an opportunity for student PowerPoint presentations but this will depend on circumstances.

Module organizers: Dr Thomas Hawkins (thomas.hawkins@ucl.ac.uk) and Prof. Leslie Dale (l.dale@ucl.ac.uk).