Understanding the benefits and limitations of in vivo models is an important aspect of biomedical research. This module covers how in vivo models can be used...

Understanding the benefits and limitations of in vivo models is an important aspect of biomedical research. This module covers how in vivo models can be used to investigate fundamental biological and pathobiological mechanisms in preclinical research. A variety of in vivo models will be covered, with an emphasis on zebra fish and mice, on a theoretical as well as on a practical level. Modern experimental tools, such as genetic manipulation, advanced microscopy, in vivo imaging, gene profiling and others will be discussed in detail, alongside the importance of the 3R’s and the legal framework.

Important business decisions cannot be left to intuition alone. We need to communicate the structure of our reasoning, defend it to adversarial challenges and make presentations that show we have done a thorough analysis. We also need to make sense out of various sources of data, organise the inputs of experts and colleagues, and use state-of-the-art tools to provide analytical support for our reasoning.

The objective of this course is to equip you to be more effective in these tasks. You will develop skills in data analysis, structuring decisions, building decision models, risk assessment, decision making under uncertainty, recognising areas where business analysis can add value, selecting appropriate types of analyses and learning to apply them in a small scale, quick-turnaround fashion.

This is a practical course, which uses state-of-the-art decision support software to illustrate how to apply the methodologies introduced. Therefore, the course consists of a mixture of lectures and computer workshops. The software used in the lectures and workshops is Microsoft Excel, with add-ins SimVoi for simulation, TreePlan for decision analysis, and Solver for optimisation. To ensure that you are equipped with the requisite working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, you will be provided with some resources in the forms of tutorials and formative exercises prior to the start of the module.