UK drug discovery and development is increasingly being shaped through a complex interaction of research, policy and practice. However, our understanding of this innovation system is partially due to the dearth of systems-level empirical studies and to simplistic conceptual approaches. This study uses a Triple Helix systems approach to illustrate…

Gamification in higher education has steadily been gaining traction as a useful addition to the diversity of learning resources available to both teachers and students. We have invented a card-based, role-playing team game called 'Braincept' to help aid pharmacology learning for medical students. The aims of the current study are to determine…

Intestinal smooth muscle contracts rhythmically in the absence of nerve and hormonal stimulation because of the activity of pacemaker cells between and within the muscle layers. This means that the autonomic nervous system modifies rather than initiates intestinal contractions. The practical described here gives students an opportunity to observe…

Seeking young people's perspectives is integral to delivering effective mental health care. This systematic review aimed to synthesise the qualitative research exploring the life experiences of young people diagnosed with ADHD. Four electronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycInfo and SCOPUS) were searched in February 2017 for peer-reviewed,…

Using current research and real-life scenarios to motivate students to understand chemistry principles is a key strategy in learning and teaching. An illustration of psychoactive drugs referred to as "legal highs" used in the U.K. and Europe is presented to highlight key chemistry principles and relate the importance of chemistry…

For successful delivery of basic science topics for health-professional students, it is critical to reduce apprehension and illustrate relevance to clinical settings and everyday life. At the beginning of the Biochemistry course for Physician Assistants, a team-based assignment was designed to develop an understanding of the mechanism of action,…

Research on undergraduate bioscience students and the incidence of plagiarism is still in its infancy and a key problem arises in gauging the perception of undergraduate students on plagiarism and collusion in biosciences subjects because of the lack of empirical data. The aim of this study was to provide qualitative data on the perceptions of…

PRINCE2, which stands for Projects in Controlled Environments, is a project management method covering the organisation, management, and control of projects and is widely used in both government and commercial IT and building projects in the UK. This paper describes the application of PRINCE2 to the management of large clinical trials…

Pharmacology is taught on a dedicated module for nurse prescribers who have a limited physical science background. To facilitate learning a problem-based approach was adopted. However, to enhance students' knowledge of drug action a PharmaCALogy software package from the British Pharmacological Society was used. Students were alternately given a…

A survey was conducted in UK Universities to identify the employment of pharmacology graduates (BSc, MSc and PhD) 6 months after graduation in 2003. The aim was to provide data for the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) so they could offer advice to interested bodies and to University staff for careers information. 85% of 52 Universities…