Curriculum design for research-led teaching: Molecule to Malady

Abstract

Modern medicine is increasingly characterised by a personalised approach to treatment through producing therapies that target specific biological processes. When planning the new Bachelor of Biomedicine (BBiomed) degree, one of two completely new undergraduate courses crafted as part of the ‘Melbourne Curriculum’ introduced by The University of Melbourne in 2008, the paradigm that medical interventions should be evidence-based and driven by a molecular understanding of the cause of disease was a key design parameter. Our intention in developing the curriculum for Biomedicine: Molecule to Malady (M2M), a third-year compulsory capstone subject of this new BBiomed degree, was to enhance the ability of students to apply their core cross-disciplinary knowledge to unfamiliar problems in translational medicine by having expert clinicians/researchers explain the scientific reasoning applied to the development of disease interventions in their specialist areas.