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PhD BIOMED PROGRAM

Within the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences students who undertake a doctorate by research in Biomedical Science typically have completed honours or masters in a Biomedical Science discipline and are undertaking the doctorate as a pathway to a career in research, academia or industry. The professional development and training for students who undertake HDR research in this discipline area will provide opportunities to gain fundamental research skills, in addition to a range of transferrable vocational skills, creating unique opportunities to broaden their career horizons.

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1. Program details

Program Option Graduate Research Development Program

Program nameBiomedical Sciences PhD Training Program

Discipline(s) of program(s) Biomedical Sciences

Program DirectorA/Prof Martin Stone

Managing faculty The Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Collaborating faculties(If applicable)

Monash Institute of Medical Research-Prince Henry’s Institute (MIMR-PHI); Baker IDI; Burnet Institute

Name of course of which this program is a part PhD

Course code

0047/4000

Proposed date for program commencement

January 1st 2015

1. Contact details

Contact Person A/Prof Martin Stone

Phone 9902 9246Email [email protected]

Name of alternate contact Dr Melanie Pritchard / Dr Shae Cox

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Graduate Research Compulsory Units Please note these units do not count towards to the mandatory professional development hours

and are in addition to Program requirementsUnit TitleUnit code

Mandatory links with any milestone

Requirements for satisfactory completion

Activity typeOnline/class/seminar

Activity date

Monash Induction Must be completed prior to confirmation

On-line

Research Integrity Must be completed prior to confirmation

Satisfactory completion of all questions at conclusion of each online module.

On-line

School/Institute/Faculty Induction Must be completed prior to confirmation

Other compulsory faculty requirements, including occupational health & safety training requirements

Department HDR induction Must be completed prior to confirmation

Attendance On/Off-Campus Department HDR induction

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Option 1 - Graduate Research Development ProgramAdvanced Discipline Development activities

Designed and managed by faculty Minimum of 40 hours over life of candidature

Activity Title Hours How many times per year will the program be offered

Mandatory link with any milestone

Requirements for satisfactory completion eg. Assessment

Delivery Mode eg. On-line, face to face

Description and expected outcomes

Cutting Edge Research Technologies in Biomedical Science

Maximum credit - 20 hrs

Once in 2015. Workshops (Level 2) will perhaps be offered more than once in the future of the program.

Attendance Face to Face/On campus

Training may include attending workshops/symposia on specific platform research technologies and specific equipment training. Level 1 of this training module is compulsory for all students undertaking the Biomedical Sciences Program. Please see Appendix 1 for more information.

Effective Teaching Approaches in Biomedical Science

Maximum credit - 20 hrs

Once Attendance in current format. In extended format possible inclusion of self-reflective activities.

Face to Face/On campus

Includes the general Teaching Associate training workshop [one day – new], as well as convenor-run demonstrator meetings to discuss teaching approaches (typically one meeting per week or

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fortnight throughout a semester). The maximum of 20 hours would usually involve demonstrating in 2-3 semesters.) See Appendix 2.

Effective Management of a Biomedical Science Research Project. (New - to be developed).

Up to 20 hrs

Once in 2015 Attendance; satisfactory completion of project as endorsed by supervisory staff


Pre-requisite MIGR project management modules, introductory and intermediate project management. See Appendix 3.

From Project to Product. Maximum credit - 20 hrs

Once Attendance and satisfactory competency and completion of project as endorsed by supervisory staff


See Appendix 4.

Scholarly Communication in the Biomedical Sciences

Up to 10 hrs


Students will learn about discipline-specific practices and tools to enable efficient scholarly communication throughout their research program and into their careers.See Appendix 5.

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Analysis of Current Literature in Biomedical Science.

Up to 10 hrs


See Appendix 6.

Other Technical Training Programs in Biomedical Sciences (internal and external to Monash).

Up to 10 hrs

Attendance and number of hours to be verified/approved by Program Director (or delegate)

Variable Training must be specifically for postgraduate students. Must be run by a recognised tertiary institution, specialist research centre or professional society in the relevant field. For an example see Appendix 7

Written and Oral Communication Skills for Biomedical Science. (New - to be developed).

Up to 20hrs

Attendance Online and Face-to-face

Module is designed to build on the MIGR offerings in Research Development and further develop the written and oral communication skills for students in biomedical science. See Appendix 8.

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Appendix 1

Biomedical Science PhD Training Program Training Module Description

Module Name: Cutting Edge Research Technologies in Biomedical Science

Number of Hours: Maximum amount of credit will be 20 hours over the course of the PhD

Development Status: Some training activities exist; to be further developed in 2015

Purpose of Training Module

Biomedical Science research projects at Monash University benefit greatly from the University’s investment in shared, specialised state-of-the-art resources that cannot reasonably be accommodated in most individual laboratories. Access to these Platform Technologies is a major advantage of students doing their PhD research at Monash. This training module is designed to educate PhD students about the technologies provided by the platforms, including those that the student needs to use directly and those the student is interested in learning more about. This module will enhance PhD students’ knowledge and understanding of the wide range of high-tech methods available and stimulate them to think about potential applications of these methods.

Description of Training Module

This training module will consist of activities classified into three levels. Level 1 will comprise a general introduction to all the platform technologies. This part is expected to be approximately 15-18 hours, and will include a seminar series and platform tours. Level 2 will comprise a selection of more specialised presentations and workshops run by Platform Technology staff and users, with the objective of enabling students to understand how data derived from the technology give rise to conclusions presented in seminars and papers. Level 2 activities will be approximately 2-4 hours each. Level 3 training will involve advanced, hands-on training in specific practical and data analysis platform technologies, thereby enabling students to obtain in-depth understanding and practical knowledge of the methodology employed by the research platform. Level 3 activities may range from a few hours to a number of days (a charge may be incurred) and will be optional but highly recommended for students using specific Platform Technologies in their research. All students will be required to complete 18 hours of training, including a minimum of 8 hours of training at level 2 or higher. Students can complete more hours of training but only 20 hrs of Research Platform training will contribute to the training activities for the Biomedical Science PhD training program.

The current Platform Technologies are:

Monash Antibody Technologies Facility Monash Histology Facility Monash Biomedical Imaging Monash Biomedical Proteomics Facility Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy Monash e-Research Centre

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FishCore FlowCore Monash Macromolecular Crystallisation Facility Micromon Medical Genomics Facility – Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP) Monash Protein Production Unit Monash Wind Tunnel Facility

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Appendix 2


Module Name: Effective Teaching Approaches in Biomedical ScienceNumber of Hours: Up to 20 hours over the course of the PhD

Development Status: Partially developed. To be fully developed in 2015.


A significant number of our PhD students advance to positions in which they play educational roles, either in academia, schools or other organisations. Moreover, in research careers or in any other high level career path, we expect these students to be involved in training and education for employees and other coworkers. The purpose of this training module is to develop teaching skills that will be advantageous in a variety of career settings.

Teaching is a significant academic undertaking and a component of any research intensive academic career. Small group teaching sessions, particularly in practical classes, offer a number of challenges for postgraduate students, but also offer many benefits. Being required to formulate explanations and answer questions so that they can be understood by students not only further develops communication skills, but also helps to consolidate and broaden the understanding of the specific discipline area as well as related general knowledge. Furthermore, demonstrating in practical classes develops skills in leadership, group management and time management, skills not only relevant to future careers in research, but also transferable to a range of career opportunities.

This module has been developed to cover key issues in teaching and learning relevant to sessional teaching, to prepare new teaching associates (TA’s) for their teaching experience. It will introduce TA’s to aspects of learning styles, assessment and feedback and encourage them to use the cycle of plan, act, evaluate, review to develop their skills as engaging and effective teachers.

An integral part of teaching training is convenor-run demonstrator meetings to discuss teaching approaches for a given topic. Teaching approaches are partly shaped by the topic that is being taught. Pre-practical tutorials for demonstrators teach important skills such as identifying and understanding the aims and anticipated learning outcomes of each topic; emphasis of teaching concepts, facts or skills to focus on; the extent of the knowledge to be covered; methodologies to actively engage students in their learning of the topic. Tutorials build on the demonstrator workshop activities.

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Appendix 3


Module Name: Effective Management of a Biomedical Science Research Project.

Number of Hours: Up to 20 hours over the course of the PhD

Development Status: To be developed


In this module students who have been introduced to the stages of generic project management will be given the opportunity to apply what they have learnt to their own project. As prerequisites for this module, students will undertake two generic project management modules (provided by MIGR). In this module, students will then apply project management skills and principles to their current work environment in the biomedical sciences, enabling them to develop generic, transferrable project management stills and to understand how these skills are applied/tailored to managing a research project. The skills developed in this module will assist students in careers in research as well as other professions.

Prerequisites for Training Module

Students will undertake the following MIGR training programs:

Introduction to the Principles of Project Management; and

Project Management - intermediate.


Students will undertake a biomedical science “Project Management in Scientific Research” project. This part of the module will be developed in conjunction with the project management consulting company who designed the Skills Essential modules. Students will apply what has been learnt in the MIGR program within the context of their research. During planning, implementation and evaluation phases, guidance and feedback will be given to students from the consultant, facilitators, supervisors and other members of the research laboratory.

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Appendix 4


Module Name: From Project to Product

Number of Hours: 20 hours

Development Status: Developed


Basic scientific research plays a key role in research discoveries which sometimes may be translated into products, such as drugs or other applications that improve human health. This module aims to introduce students to the process of taking an idea from the bench to a commercial product. This is a long-term process that from the outset requires a clear plan of what the end product will look like. The module will introduce students to the initial stages of this planning process, including what needs to be considered when implementing such a project.


This module involves six x two hour, face-to-face sessions and a project. The face-to-face sessions will involve a combination of lectures and workshop activities.

Week 1: Introduction- Prof. Paul Wood and Assoc. Prof Jose Garcia-Bustos will give an overview of their experience in industry and introduce the training module.

Week 2: Target Product Profile – what is this? How is this developed? What needs to be considered? What needs to be considered when taking an idea from the bench to a commercial product will be discussed. Examples will be provided to give students an idea of what they need to think about when they want to produce a product.

Week 3: Intellectual Property – what is IP?

Week 4: Guest Speaker and assignment of task - product profile: concept and scientific target. This session will consist of a guest speaker from industry who will tell their story (~ 50 minutes presentation and 10 minutes questions). Students will be asked to divide into teams of 2 or 3 students and decide on a product that they would like to develop. Students will be asked to produce a one page – conceptual/commercial feasibility target product profile and a one-pager scientific target product profile.

Week 5: Lecture by external guest speaker from industry and mid-project feedback. As part of the session students will be asked about how their product profiles are progressing and given feedback as required.

Week 6: Report - student presentations and submission of product profile documents. Students hand in their one page target product profiles and give a 5 minute presentation to the group on their products.

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Appendix 5


Module Name: Scholarly Communication in the Biomedical Sciences

Number of Hours: Up to 10 hours


“Scholarly communication is the system through which research and other scholarly writings are created, evaluated for quality, disseminated to the scholarly community, and preserved for future use."1

Purpose: Through a series of interactive and collaborative blended activities students will develop the knowledge and skills for scholarly communication in the Biomedical Sciences led by the library faculty team. They will understand their information environment and how to stay on trend so they can effectively position themselves for success. They will learn about discipline specific practices and tools to enable efficient scholarly communication throughout their research program and into their careers.

Description: Students will learn about key resources for information and data retrieval and analysis. They will build customised solutions for the management of results, including tailored use of Endnote software and scholarly notification services. They will gain an overview of essential research data management skills (how to create, prepare, store, share and reuse research data ethically). Through developing critical thinking and reflective skills, understanding plagiarism and genre specific writing, they will learn how to work through a manuscript for publication. Students will understand how the benefits of a targeted publishing and promotion strategy can maximise their research impact, and how research impact is measured. They will also learn to recognise rogue publishers, and develop awareness of current trends in open access in biomedical sciences.

1 http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/principlesstrategies

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Appendix 6Biomedical Science PhD Training Program Training Module Description

Module Name: Analysis of Current Literature in Biomedical Science




A critical aspect of productive research is the ability to read and understand published research papers. One of the best ways for PhD students to develop this skill is through participation in group discussions of published articles. In addition to broadening the students’ knowledge of a field, these discussions familiarise students with many types of scientific questions and methodological approaches and allow them to hone their skills at data interpretation and criticism.


Literature analysis discussions will be run for each of the School of Biomedical Science Research Themes, coordinated by a research or academic staff member who is research-active within that theme; additional sessions spanning areas of common interest amongst multiple research groups may also be established. In a typical session, one person will present the background and data relevant to the chosen paper and others ask questions and make comments to ensure that they understand how experiments were performed and interpreted. The discussion may pinpoint inconsistencies or ambiguities in the published data, giving students the opportunity to propose possible improvements to the experimental design or alternative interpretations of the data. PhD students will be expected to make presentations as well as contributing to these discussions.

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Appendix 7

Other technical training programs in Biomedical Sciences (internal or external to Monash University)

Must be a training program specifically for postgraduate students and must be run by a recognised tertiary institution, specialist research centre or professional society in the relevant field.

Example of such training (internal to Monash)

Module Name: Bioinformatics - analysis of nucleic acids


Development Status: Partially developed.

Facilitator: Dr. Dieter Bulach - Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium


Bioinformatics plays a crucial role in modern scientific research. Many PhD students in varying disciplines are required to develop skills in this area for application to their own research projects. Familiarity with the methods applied in the interpretation of data allows for an extra level of comprehension on data presented in journal articles and seminars. This module is designed to take students from the basics of how to carry out sequencing of an organism (prokaryote and eukaryote), with sessions pertaining to: appropriate sequencing technologies; experimental and analytical parameters to consider; understanding the advantages and limitations of available technologies; basic analysis tools; and next generation sequencing.

Training Areas

This training is under active development and will contain sessions catering to skill levels spanning basic to advanced. It is envisaged the areas covered will include the following:

Sequencing technologies Sequencing output and basic tools

o Sequence alignmento Next generation sequencingo Read mapping and de novo assembly

High throughput sequencing Introduction to web tools/resources and sequence analysis technologies Variant mapping and genotyping in model organisms RNA-Seq analysis

This module will enhance PhD students’ knowledge and skills in bioinformatics so they can fully benefit from advances in the available technology and tools for analysis.

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Appendix 8


Module Name: Written and Oral Communication Skills for Biomedical Scientists


Development Status: To be developed in 2014


These training modules are designed to develop the written and oral communication skills specifically for biomedical science students and build on the MIGR offerings in Research Development. Modules will be offered across a number of communication modes such as scientific writing, presenting a scientific seminar, reviewing literature, critical reading, writing a research paper within the context of the Biomedical Science discipline. These modules aim to improve communication skills to enhance students’ careers in research, academia and other related professions.


Examples of the type of sessions that will be offered under this module over the period of candidature are as follows. Some of these sessions will be online and others will be face-to-face classes.

Year 1

Possible sessions Possible timeframe Potential Modes of Offering

Writing a Research Proposal in Biomedical Science

2 x 2 hrs Online + F2F

Critical Reading of the Biomedical Science Literature

3 x 1 hr Online + F2F

Appropriate Citation and Avoiding Plagiarism


Reviewing Literature in Biomedical Science


Preparing Confirmation Report


Presenting a Seminar 2 x 1 hr Online + F2F

Year 2

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Possible sessions Possible timeframe Mode

Giving a Conference Paper


Thesis Structure 2 x 2 hrs Onine

Advanced Grammar for Research Writing in Biomedical Science


Editing Research Writing 3 x 1 hrs Online + F2F

Writing for Publication in Biomedical Science Journals

1 x 2 hrs Online

Writing a Thesis by publication in Biomedical Sciences


Year 3

Thesis-writing

Revision of earlier sessions if needed Indefinite

Small group sessions** As needed

**Principally for international and NESB PhD students

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