Complementos formativos Doctorado en Ciencias de la Visión (Interuniversitario)
Additional training is considered after examining the adequacy of the students’ skills and knowledge related to their academic background and those included within the Programme. The training complements will not exceed 20 ECTS and will be assessed individually, depending on the lacks detected. These credits will be obtained from subjects of the master's degree in Research into Vision Sciences, and they must be completed within the first year of the doctorate programme.
On the other hand, given that future graduates in Medicine will simultaneously receive their Degree and Master titles, they will be required to complete training complements in order to be admitted onto the doctorate programme in Vision Sciences. These complements will be carried out in the first year and will consist of the following:
- Optional subject of the master's degree in Research on Vision Sciences entitled "Basic Elements of Research", 6 ECTS. This subject is taught in the first semester of the course, usually in the last weeks of October. The faculty members in charge of this subject are specialised in the different topics covered therein and focus their clinical, lecturing and/or research activity on those topics. The aims, structure and programme are detailed below:
Learning aims:
To provide the student with general knowledge regarding:
1) the ethical standards governing biomedical research; (2) the structure of any research project, the preparation of budgets and an overview of available funds for research; 3) biomedical research structures in Spain; 4) general structure of any scientific publication and bibliographic searches; 5) basic knowledge of applied statistics that enables doctoral students to seek the appropriate advice before any research work; 6) general knowledge regarding the protection of the researcher’s intellectual property rights (registers and patents); 7) communication of research; 8) the creation of companies and other tools to transfer research to the productive sector; 9) clinical research (clinical trials); 10) legislation and ethical standards governing research with experimental animals; 11) alternative methods or techniques, both in general biomedical research and particularly in vision sciences; 12) animal models currently used in research on ophthalmology and vision sciences.
The subject is structured in two units, the first is related to the regulation, funding, management and communication of scientific research, and the second is focused on the use of animals in scientific experimentation in vision sciences and its alternatives.
At the end of the subject the student should be able to:
Unit 1.
1. Seek, understand and apply the ethical standards governing human research at EU level.
2. Name the biomedical network research structures in Spain, in both the public and the private sectors.
3. Name the sections of the general structure of any biomedical research project.
4. Name the general guidelines for preparing the budget of a research project.
5. Name the sections of any scientific publication and identify them in an example.
6. Perform a bibliographic search using keywords.
7. Determine the impact index of any biomedical publication.
8. Determine the Hirsch index of a particular author.
9. Define the concept of communication applied to biomedical research.
10. Define the concept of patent in the biomedical field and the minimum requirements needed to maintain the patentability of an idea.
11. Define the concepts in confidentiality, intellectual property and industrial property agreements.
12. Define the concept of transfer of research results.
13. Define the concept of clinical research and name the phases of a clinical trial defining its content.
14. Define the concept of Ethic and Clinical Research Committee and list its most common competencies.
Unit 2.
15. Seek, understand and apply the ethical standards and legislation governing animal research in Spain and internationally.
16. Define the role of the Ethics and Animal Research Committees.
17. Describe the main differences in ocular anatomy in fish, birds, and mammals.
18. Describe the general characteristics of housing, feeding and care of experimental animals provided by the Animal Housing of the Faculty of Medicine.
19. Recognise the main animal species used in experimentation in Biomedicine and in the field of Vision Sciences.
20. Identify the pros and cons of current animal models in research into ophthalmology and vision sciences.
21. Define the concept of alternative methods or techniques for the use of experimental animals.
22. Look for specific alternatives to animal testing in general, and for eye research in particular.
23. Describe alternative and validated methods for ocular research.
Programme contents and activities:
Unit 1: Regulation, financing, management and communication of scientific research.
Topic 1. Ethics and biomedical research.
Topic 2. General concepts on biomedical research.
Topic 3. Networks and other cooperative research structures. Search for opportunities for biomedical research.
Topic 4. Translational research and transfer of research results: clusters.
Topic 5. Statistics applied to biomedical research.
Topic 6. Carrying out a project.
Topic 7. Clinical Research. Clinical Trials. Functions of the Ethics and Clinical Research Committee. Clinical trials in Ophthalmology.
Topic 8. Measurement in research. Bibliometrics.
Topic 9. Dissemination and communication of research results.
Topic 10. Research management. General lines for making a research budget. What is a project manager?
Topic 11. Patents, spin-offs and other opportunities for researchers.
Topic 12. Patents in biomedicine.
Topic 13. Preparing a publication.
Topic 14. Interactive work on the critique of publications.
Unit 2: Alternatives to the use of animals in scientific experimentation.
Topic 1. National and international legislation for the protection of animals used in experiments; particular features in the field of Vision Sciences.
Topic 2. General concepts on ethics in animal testing. Role of the ethical committee of animal testing.
Topic 3. Comparative ocular anatomy. Development and applicability of animal models.
Topic 4. Animal models in vision sciences.
Topic 5. Application of alternative techniques to the use of animals in experimentation.
Topic 6. Specific alternatives in ocular research. Concept of validation and international agencies.
MANDATORY ACTIVITIES FROM UNIT 1:
ACTIVITY 1. Oral presentation of critical commentary of a scientific publication
Critically comment a scientific publication and prepare a PowerPoint presentation to be given (5 minutes) in the classroom on the final day of classes. Guidelines with the concepts that must be taken into account will be provided. Presentations will be submitted through the virtual campus.
ACTIVITY 2. Research concepts
Fill out a questionnaire on research concepts, to be submitted through the virtual campus.
ACTIVITY 3. Bibliometrics
Fill out a questionnaire on bibliometrics, to be submitted through the virtual campus. Requires online searches.
ACTIVITY 4. Research concepts
Answer several questions on research concepts, by means of short answers, to be submitted through the virtual campus.
MANDATORY ACTIVITIES FROM UNIT 2:
- Activity 1. Online search for the currently validated alternative ocular techniques.
Information about useful websites will be provided. The student should prepare a short piece of work with the validated alternative ocular techniques they found, the websites visited to find them and the detailed description of one of them -chosen freely-, along with a critical assessment of the selected technique.
- Activity 2. Oral presentation at a talk.
The student will prepare a PowerPoint presentation, with a maximum of five slides, on a subject freely chosen from the contents of the unit. They will present their work orally in a seminar to be held on the last morning of the course. Each student will have a maximum of five minutes. Special attention will be paid to originality and compliance with the said time and number of slides.
