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PHA-10030 - Module Specification
School of Allied Health Professions and Pharmacy
Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 16 September 2026

PHA-10030 - Biochemistry & Cell Biology
Coordinator: David Morgan Room: HORBM1.04 Tel: +44 1782 7 33474
Lecture Time:
Level: Level 4
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2026/27

Cell biology and biochemistry are the foundation of modern medicine and recent advances in these disciplines have provided many tools to dissect the function of a gene and understand how mutations have an impact on biological processes and diseases. This module is designed to give you a firm and detailed overview of the “chemistry of life” and to understand how this underlies the functioning of the cell at a molecular level. Lectures in the traditional and virtual format will be complemented by a series of practical sessions that will support your understanding of nucleic acids and their manipulation.

Aims
The understanding, diagnosis and treatment of disease is increasingly grounded in the molecular biosciences. This module aims to provide an introduction to biology at the molecular and cellular level, and considers what cells are, what they look like, and how they work. It will establish the principles and knowledge base of biochemistry to give students the means to build understanding of living things at the molecular level; and will convey how molecules, large and small, cooperate so that our cells are able to utilise food as fuel, to produce and respond to messengers that enable communication and coordination between different tissues.

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/pha-10030/lists

Intended Learning Outcomes

Describe the structural characteristics of amino acids & proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids, and their principal biological roles in living systems.: 1,4
Describe how the fundamental laws of thermodynamics and kinetics constrain chemical and biological reactions, and the strategies that have evolved to allow biological reactions to proceed within these constraints.: 1,3,4
Explain how the interaction of lipids and proteins forms a functionalised cell membrane, and how this structure enables compartmentalisation, cell signalling, and energy transduction within the cell.: 4
Interpret quantitative data from biochemical and cell biology experiments, including the calculation of basic descriptive statistics, and the estimation of parameters from concentration-response experiments using provided templates/protocols.: 2,3

Study hours

Lectures: 34 hours
Workshops: 9 hours
Laboratory sessions: 32 hours
Assessed laboratory practicals and exam: 10 hours
Independent study including preparation for assessments: 215 hours

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Exam weighted 20%
A 2-hour exam at the end of semester one comprising of MCQ and short answer questions
A two hours exam to comprise of 40 MCQ questions (five choices, one correct answer) and short answer questions (two to be chosen out of four). The exam will have an overall weight of 20%.

2: Laboratory Practicals weighted 30%
Laboratory assessment
This will take two parts. Multiple formative and summative laboratory aptitude tests will be completed in the laboratory sessions, and witnessed and signed off by teaching or demonstrating staff. A single summative laboratory report (~2000 words) will be submitted two weeks after the completion of the relevant practical session. This will be supported by opportunities to submit formative lab reports for earlier sessions (overall weight: 30%)

3: Class Test weighted 30%
In-course assignments
Three summative in-course assignments that will be during the course of the module, consisting in problems of biochemistry and cell biology; students will complete and submit the worksheets in the class. Problems will be in the form of Process oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) worksheets with multiple critical thinking questions aligned to the didactic teaching in the session. Students will gain formative experience using these worksheets in prior workshop sessions.

4: Exam weighted 20%
A 2-hour exam at the end of semester two comprising of MCQ and short answer questions
A two hours exam to comprise of 40 MCQ questions (five choices, one correct answer) and short answer questions (two to be chosen out of four). The exam will have an overall weight of 20%.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 16 September 2026