Biologie études

The Master's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology focuses on normal and pathological functioning, from bacteria to humans and from genes to systems.

Whether you choose to go into business or industry, the experimental approach in the laboratory or teaching in upper secondary schools, you'll discover how to tackle current problems in human biology, genetics and genomics, cell biology, animal biology, microbiology and virology.

The course's strong thematic focus is on cancer, intracellular trafficking, aging, metabolism and stem cells.

Your objectives

  • approach the living world in all its complexity and various levels of organization, from bacteria to man and from genes to systems;
  • become players in the understanding of biological processes at the cellular and molecular levels, under normal and pathological conditions;
  • design research projects in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology, bring them to fruition, interpret and publish the results.

The benefits of training

  • a Master's degree, co-organized by the Department of Biology and the Faculty of Medicine, which builds on the strong lines of research conducted in Namur;
  • a solid practical training, thanks in particular to the important place given to the dissertation, which enables a real apprenticeship in the profession of researcher;
  • a training in foreign fields of expertise thanks to the participation of numerous Belgian and international specialists in your courses;
  • a first professional experience of 4 to 6 months during the internship in a company or research laboratory, in Belgium or abroad.

The program

1st year Master's degree

During the first year, in addition to compulsory courses, you choose courses in various fields:

  • human biology,
  • genetics and genomics,
  • cellular and molecular biology,
  • microbiology and virology.

Thanks to the participation of Belgian and international specialists in these various courses, you'll broaden the scope of your knowledge.

During integrated practical work, for 2 weeks you design and carry out experiments to answer a biological question.

Biologie études

You are then trained in the handling of laboratory animals, mandatory for all researchers who handle animals in the course of their research and dissertation.

This training culminates in the FELASA B: technologist legal certificate.

Finally, you choose a dissertation topic and start your full-time research in a state-of-the-art laboratory in the Department of Biology, Veterinary Medicine or Faculty of Medicine. During the dissertation, you really learn the job of a researcher thanks to the team that supervises you individually and enables you to put into practice the scientific approach learned during your studies in order to answer the question you have chosen.

Biologie études

2nd year master

During the second year, you first pursue research for your dissertation.

You then select elective courses to complete your scientific training.

Finally, you conclude your training with a 4-month internship in a research laboratory, outside UNamur, mainly abroad, to master the experimental approach in the laboratory and written and oral scientific communication. This internship is a first professional experience, an unforgettable experience for learning about science and life, and often, a springboard for a first job.

Biologie études

Other master's degrees in biology

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Description

The Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular biology is designed in such a way that the vast majority of courses are options that students can choose from a structure covering five pathways

  • human biology (cancer, inflammation, vascular pathology, etc.) ;
  • genetics and genomics (molecular diagnosis, genetic dynamics, questions of survival, etc.)
  • cellular and molecular animal biology (stem cells, normal and pathological ageing, etc.)
  • infectious disease (bacteria, viruses, parasites, immune responses, adaptive strategies, genetics and cell biology of microorganisms, infectiology at the cellular level - tissue - organism - population, epidemiology, prophylaxis and treatment).
  • cellular and molecular microbiology (host-pathogen interaction, molecular evolution and adapting, etc.)

During the training, students can choose two « thematic weeks » ( a week of lectures, seminars and practical courses) given in Namur or other Universities from the « Communauté française » (French-speaking community) in Belgium.

The training is completed through a long research project and dissertation, (12 months) carried out in a renowned research laboratory (initiation to research in M1 followed by a research project and dissertation in M2)

The orientation with an in-depth focus prepares students specifically for research, offering them the opportunity of an internship / work placement in a laboratory.

International mobility and openness

The in-depth focus offers students the opportunity of an internship / work placement in Belgium or abroad, with financial support from the « mobilité internationale » office of the Science Faculty. Unamur mostly takes part in exchange programmes financed by Erasmus scholarships.

The orientation with a focus on specialisation offers students the opportunity of an internship / work placement within a firm or an administrative entity in Belgium or abroad.

Teaching methods

This Master’s degree is organised by the Biology Department within the Science Faculty and the Medecine Faculty, and inserts itself in the strong research networks developed  at UNamur

  • The option courses offered in the first year encourage the participation of a number of guest teachers, giving students the possibility of developing a wider range of skills
  • The curriculum offers a thorough practical training, mainly as the research project develops throughout a long period of time, including the dissertation which specifically prepares students to the reality of work as researchers
  • In the second year of the Master’s degree, students acquire four-month work experience in the professional world within a firm or research laboratory

Aims and objectives

Aims and objectives are established as follows :

  • approaching the living world in its complexity and its diverse levels of organisation, from bacteria to human beings, and from genes to systems ;
  • taking an active role in the understanding of biological processes at cellular and molecular levels in both normal and pathological conditions ;
  • designing research projects in biochemistry and molecular and cellulaire biology, implementing them, interpreting and publishing them.

Assessment

In the majority of cases, students hand in written papers and / or oral presentations on specific topics related to the material covered in courses. The research project and dissertation as well as the internship / work placement are evaluated through a report which is to be written either in French or in English, along with an oral presentation and a public defense before a pre-established jury.

Teaching profile

At the beginning of the training students acquire very specific in-depth knowledge in specialised scientific domains which they can choose from a wide range of available options. From the first year on, students have the privilege of being confronted with the reality of  insertion in a research laboratory, thanks to an initiation to research in the first year followed in the second year by a research project and dissertation. This training towards scientific work and research is followed by an internship / work placement in a research institution or firm, in Belgium or abroad.

  1. Main skill : implementing methodological and experimental approaches and procedures
  2. Subject-linked skills :
    • Mastering knowledge and techniques
    • Working in a methodic and creative manner in reference to scientific literature, in order to complete research projects which involve not only the designing and carrying out of laboratory experiments, but also the analysis, interpretation and discussion of the experimental results with peers and supervisors.
    • Being able to follow and/ or adapt a specific experimental protocol, while scrupulously respecting the instructions established by the laboratory which is opening its doors to students.
  3. Transferable skills : Ability to :
  4. integrate and synthesise elements coming from different sources in order to provide a concrete answer to a scientific problem ;
  5. pass on scientific information, orally and in written form, in a precise, rigorous and understandable manner ;
  6. use information and communication technologies in an appropriate way ;
  7. evaluate, comment, and give a critical view of scientific information coming from scientific research and literature, mainly published in English ;
  8. carry out laboratory manipulations, including those performed on laboratory animals, in an environment which is in compliance with established quality norms and ethical norms
  9. develop awareness of one’s limits, requesting evalution by other researchers, and accurately autoevaluating one’s own work

Professions of experts in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology

The life sciences are evolving rapidly, and with them the techniques and professions associated with them. In Belgium, the pharmaceutical industry is a flagship that employs over 29,000 people, including more than 5,000 in research and development (R&D). Biotech companies also form a particularly rich and dynamic fabric.

As graduates and experts in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology, you may well become key players in this sector, which nonetheless represents just one of the many facets of professional activities to which you can aspire.

In fact, your in-depth understanding of the living world, your research skills, your rigor and your analytical capacity acquired and developed during your Master's degree will open up numerous professional prospects in academic research, teaching, the hospital world, forensics, the agri-food industry... and many other sectors!

The department in which I work checks that the vaccines to be proposed for clinical trials comply with standards. My role, for example, is to demonstrate that our products can be injected into animals during the pre-clinical phases, that our personnel are sufficiently trained, etc. I work with engineers, chemists and physicists. I also have to train technicians in the quality assurance procedures implemented in our company.

Audrey