Overview

The course will enable students from a range of backgrounds (biomedical, clinical, allied health professionals etc.) to develop an academic and contemporary understanding of the biological and environmental influences that impact on pregnancy and the lifelong physical and mental wellbeing health of women and their infants.

Students will gain insight and knowledge of how translation of basic science and clinical observation can lead to cutting edge research studies into new diagnostic and treatments both in the UK and in low resource settings globally. Students will develop scientific and clinical practical research skills, including statistics, so that they can confidently critically evaluate others research design and results, and apply these to their own research. They will also be given the necessary research knowledge and skills to design, plan, navigate and research governance pathways, and conduct and analyse their own research project. Both scientific and clinical research focussed projects (wet lab, clinic and literature based) are offered.

Applications from students on an undergraduate Medical or Dental programme looking to intercalate are welcome.

Key benefits

Substantial student-tutor interaction.
Cross disciplinary teaching with a focus on translating research to the clinic and the global community.
Research project in world class laboratories and research groups in Women and Children's Health, Paediatric Allergy, Mental Health, Nutrition, Diabetes and Global Health.
Access to the latest leading cutting-edge technologies housed at KCL and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre including next generation sequencing, a range of Omics and neonatal imaging, as well as dedicated clinical research units.
Lectures delivered by experienced and internationally recognised researchers and clinicians covering contemporary issues in Women and Children's Health research.
Interactive tutorials, journal clubs and workshops on writing successful research grants, clinical study protocols and ethics applications.
The course prepares students for future MD and PhD study.
Provides experience for students interested in developing a career in clinical trials and research administration and other allied professions.

The MSc Women and Children’s Health at KCL allowed me to advance my knowledge and accelerated my opportunities in research. The ability to select specialised modules allowed me to focus my learning on areas of interest. As a midwife, I was particularly interested in the reproductive biology aspects of the course helped reinforce my clinical knowledge with scientific basis.

MollyAlumna, Women & Children's Health MSc

Course essentials

The MSc Women and Children’s Health comprises three required taught modules and a research project module. ‘Fundamentals of Women and Children’s Health’ covers health and disease from the periconception period to birth and early childhood. Research led lectures will cover topics such as infertility, pre- pregnancy health, placentation, preeclampsia, immunology of pregnancy and autoimmune disease, metabolic disease in pregnancy, parturition and dysfunctional labour, miscarriage and preterm birth, lactation and infant nutrition, the developing brain and prematurity, childhood diet and dental health, premature infant and the neonatal lung, gut microbiome, obesity, childhood allergy, epigenetics and lifelong health, nutrition, and global health and perinatal mental health.

The other required taught modules cover Research Methods and Applied Statistics; Scientific and Clinical Research skills, and a research project. The research project module is an intensive six month required research project within a lab, or clinical or data analytical research group. Students can also select 1-2 optional taught module(s) to tailor the course to their developing interests, examples include Perinatal Mental Health, Birth Defects, Assisted Conception, Biomedical Diagnostics, The Essential Knowledge of Obstetric Medicine, and Global Women and Children’s Health. There are also modules run by the Department of Population Health Sciences that may be of interest (spaces limited).

The course fosters the intellectual skills of students through:

- Critical assimilation and appraisal of the research literature pertaining to Women and Children’s Health.

- Production of original pieces of written work that explain, review and evaluate primary research literature and using this evaluation to develop ideas and hypotheses.

- Understanding research governance and demonstrate compliance with research regulations.

- Understanding and applying scientific and clinical study design and statistical analysis principles.

- Thinking critically about their own work/research to input into the synthesis and design of future hypotheses and experiments.

- Using subject knowledge and understanding to explore and solve familiar and unfamiliar problems.

- Collecting, interpreting, and analysing data investigations with a critical understanding of the appropriate contexts for their use through the study of primary research articles and the student’s own data.