Coursework
Core and elective courses
Students are required to fulfil a coursework component, comprising of 5 prescribed core courses worth 18 units and 2 elective courses worth 6 units.
The core courses are MDG5108 Biostatistics for Basic Research, MDG5771 Graduate Research Seminar (for students admitted prior to Aug 22 intake) or NG5001 Academic Communication for Graduate Researchers (for students admitted from Aug 22 intake onwards), NG5002 Research Ethics for Graduate Researchers (for students admitted from Aug 24 intake onwards), CDM5101 Fundamentals of Cancer Biology and CDM5102 Translational Cancer Research. A few examples of elective courses are also listed below. Other elective courses will be considered on a case by case basis depending on the students’ planned field of research interest.
The list of pre-approved courses will be periodically updated to reflect the changing graduate programmes in the faculties and the addition of new research groups with varying interests within the CSI Singapore.
Lecture materials can be found in Canvas.
CORE COURSES
CDM5101 Fundamentals of Cancer Biology (4MC)
This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of aberrant cell growth control mechanisms in cancer. The major lecture topics will include introduction/history of cancer, virus and cancer, oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, metastasis, tumor immunology, cancer stem cells, animal models, regulation of the cell cycle, cell death and cell signaling, telomeres, cancer genomics, development and cancer, metastasis. This course is an essential prerequisite for the Translational Cancer Research Course.
Coordinator: A/Prof Koji Itahana
Co-coordinator: A/Prof Tam Wai Leong
Course Offer date: January
Course Duration: 12 weeks
Maximum class size: 50
Examination: Journal Club and Essay Assignment
CDM5102 Translational Cancer Research (4MC)
This course aims to apply fundamental knowledge of cancer biology to translational and clinical cancer research. The major lecture topics include introduction/overview of current cancer therapies, diagnostics and familial cancers, cancer genetics and genomics, drug discovery and development, small-molecule drugs, and cancer immunotherapy. Special seminars by distinguished speakers presenting successful examples of translational research as well as a workshop session (e.g., molecular biological techniques, bioinformatics analysis) related to basic cancer research will be conducted. Assessment will be based on essay assignment and interactive journal club sessions.
Coordinator: A/Prof Yvonne Tay
Co-coordinator: Dr Low Jun Siong
Course Offer date: August
Course Duration: 12 weeks
Maximum class size: 50
Examination: Journal Club and Essay Assignment
Pre-requisite: CDM5101 Fundamentals of Cancer Biology
MDG5108 Biostatistics for Basic Research (4MC)
This course is served as a concept-based introduction to biostatistics, or to the use of numerical techniques to extract information from data and facts. It is aimed at students, researchers in life and health sciences, and health professionals who wish to learn modern research methods. The main learning objectives are to understand the statistical concepts for data analysis, to interpret statistical results for scientific communications and able to objectively read/understand published work. Using computer software such as SPSS, the concepts and the statistical methods will be illustrated based on real life data arising from selected scientific and medical studies.
Coordinator: Dr Shen Liang
Course Duration: 9 weeks
Maximum class size: 120
Examination: Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory-comprising of a written paper
MDG5771 Graduate Research Cancer Seminar Course (4MC)
– Spread over 2 semesters
– For students admitted prior to AY2022/2023 intake
This course aims to cultivate a strong research culture among graduate students by exposing them to newly emerging fields of cancer research and to improve their communication skills through presentations and interactions with other researchers. Students are required to attend at least 7 out of the 10 seminars held each semester within CSI Singapore/Duke GMS for 2 consecutive semesters. In addition, they are required to present a research article at least once during the 2 semesters.
NG5001 Academic Communication for Graduate Researchers (4MC)
– For students admitted from AY2022/2023 onwards
Designed for all PhD students of the NUS Graduate School (NUSGS), this course facilitates further development of students’ academic literacies in critical reading, writing and oral presentation. For critical reading, students will be guided to deconstruct and evaluate arguments – competences which students will then deploy by writing a proposal. In writing the proposal, students will need to demonstrate the ability to use suitable academic conventions. This proposal will subsequently be delivered as an oral presentation to a cross-disciplinary audience. This course utilizes a blended learning approach, where students’ learning experiences will comprise in-class and online synchronous and asynchronous lessons and activities.
Course Duration: 13 weeks
Maximum class size: 20 (multiple classes)
Examination: Graded-comprising of research proposal, presentation, class participation, online quizzes/exercises
NG5002 Research Ethics for Graduate Researchers
– For students admitted from AY2024/2025 onwards
This course, compulsory for all PhD students, introduces the learner to ethical issues in research. It provides an in-depth analysis of core topics, namely ethical research & decision making, research misconduct, plagiarism, conflicts of Interest, data management, authorship & publication, mentorship, collaboration, and the research environment.
Students will be allowed to choose two elective topics based on their research needs. A case-study approach will serve as the basis for in-depth analysis. Each topic emphasizes the importance of promoting ethical conduct in research. A blended learning 2.0 pedagogical approach involving synchronous and asynchronous learning activities will be adopted.
Course Duration: 6 weeks
Examination: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory – comprising quizzes/tests (30%) and class participation (group work for case presentation and discussion forum participation) (70%)
ELECTIVE COURSES
CDM5104 Computational Genomics (4 MC)
This course is designed for biology students who have no or limited prior background in bioinformatics. Students will learn state-of-the art computational approaches to analyse large sets of genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic and proteomic data. They will be further introduced to recent machine learning developments and their applications to molecular genetics. Lectures from specialists will be complemented by tutorials to help the students to take advantage of public computational resources (databases and analysis software). At the end of the course, students will be able to apply these computational resources to their own projects.
Coordinator: Dr Dennis Kappei
Co-coordinator: Dr Jason Pitt
Course Offer Date: January
Max class size: 20
S/U option: allow
CDM5103 Advanced Topics in RNA Biology and Human Diseases (4MC)
This course will expose graduate students to cutting-edge knowledge of RNA biology and its implications in human diseases. Landmark studies in the field will be discussed in order to offer a historical perspective, and publications from the latest issues of scientific journals will be referenced to learn about recent findings in this rapidly-evolving field. In addition, through lectures and interactive journal clubs conducted by clinical and basic science experts, students will discover how cell processes are regulated by RNA, RNA-binding proteins and the ribonucleoprotein complex, how changes in RNA can lead to disease, and how we can explore the therapeutic potential of RNA.
Coordinator: A/Prof Yvonne Tay
Co-Coordinator: Dr Anthony Khong
Course Offer date: August
Maximum class size: 50
S/U option: Allow
MDG5214 Research skills (4MC)
This course equips students with essential relevant research skills. The students will learn how to perform a comprehensive literature review of the current evidence, critique journal articles, use software such as Endnotes to compile references, and learn how to write scientific papers and grants. Students will be taught how to develop a scientific poster or prepare oral presentations of scientific findings. In addition, students will learn about the major funding agencies and the Institutional Review Boards in Singapore, and the principles of research ethics.
Coordinator: A/Prof Chen Ee Sin, Department of Biochemistry
Course Offer date: August
Maximum class size: 135
S/U Option: Not allowed
Timetables of the various courses are available here.
Please note that timetables may be subjected to changes.
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- Students with outstanding fees or Negative Service Indicator (NSI) imposed on their record in EduRec will be barred from registering courses offered by the University. Students are advised to settle all their outstanding bills or NSI imposed, if any, with the Office of Finance/Registrar’s Office to avoid any problems for the course registration.
- To take a course for credit (ie for a grade), students are required to sit for the course assessments. Students who audit a course will not receive a final grade. Audited courses will not appear on the student’s transcript/result slip. No record of attendance will be issued to auditors of a course.
- The School reserves the right to cancel any course due to insufficient class size. Students will be notified of the cancellation if any, after the closing date of the registration