Biological Psychiatry (p.grad.cert.) in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Biological Psychiatry (p.grad.cert.) in Trinity College Dublin

The Postgraduate Certificate course in Biological Psychiatry is designed to address the major neuroscience developments and challenges in psychiatry and their clinical application.  The TCD Discipline of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine has established expertise in neuropsychiatric genetics, molecular neuroscience, neuroimaging, neuropsychology, clinical trials, biostatistics and research methodology. The Discipline has strong links with the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience with several of its senior members being PI’s.  In recent years members of the Discipline have authored landmark papers in leading scientific journals such as New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Nature Genetics, Molecular Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry, Archives of General Psychiatry, Human Molecular Genetics and Biological Psychiatry.

The course will be run in the Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St. James’s Hospital, Dublin 8.  The Centre has modern teaching facilities and computer labs and hosts laboratory facilities for molecular neuroscience practicals.

Course Description
This Postgraduate Certificate course explores the relationship between basic principles, biological factors and clinical features in mental health disorders, allowing students to translate scientific understanding into their training effective clinical practice. It is aimed primarily at medical graduates with a background or interest in Psychiatry (or related health care disciplines such as neurology, psychology, or biological sciences) who wish to develop their research skills and broaden their research interests.  The Postgraduate Certificate course also addresses the research methodology and pre-clinical scientific components of the curriculum for Basic Specialist Trainees in Psychiatry, which is similar to the syllabus for the UK MRCPsych exams. The course will aid in equipping participants with the skills to progress in a career in Psychiatry and mental health research or to embark on a doctoral programme.

Course Objectives
Neuropsychiatric disorders are common with one in four of the world’s population suffering from various forms of mental, behavioural and neurological disorders.  Within the 15-44 age group, mental disorders account for 6 of the 20 leading causes of disability. According to the World Health Organisation, mental disorders account altogether for about 13.5% of the global burden of disease and this is projected to rise to 14.2% by 2030.  The proportion of the burden is actually greatest in high-income countries (21.4%) but is now growing in lower- and middle-income countries due to improvements in infectious disease management, increasing numbers of younger adults entering the age of risk for common neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression) and also the expanding ageing population at risk of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The neurobiology underlying most common neuropsychiatric disorders is not yet clear.  However, remarkable advances in neuroscientific methods, such as molecular biology, genetics, cognitive neuropsychology, and functional imaging, are beginning to provide a clearer understanding of the complexity and multifactorial aetiology of many disorders.  It is hoped and expected that, over the coming decades, such advances in biological psychiatry will aid diagnosis and inform rational therapeutic strategies.

Providing a new Postgraduate Certificate course in Biological Psychiatry with a curriculum incorporating basic research methodology, cognitive neuropsychology, neuroimaging, molecular neuroscience, molecular psychiatry, and neuropsychiatric genetics will fulfill an important educational need for a range of disciplines involved in evidence-based mental health care practice.  For example, the subject matter covered in the course makes up a large proportion of the curriculum for post-graduate professional training in Psychiatry for doctors.

Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:  
1.    Apply skills in critical appraisal of existing research, hypothesis formulation, study design, and data analysis
2.    Evaluate the role of genetic and molecular factors in neuropsychiatric disorders
3.    Use knowledge of basic human psychology and development to describe both normal and abnormal mental states
4.    Describe emerging technologies used in studying functional neuroanatomy, behaviour,  cognition, and information processing relevant to psychiatric disorders
5.    Explain contemporary molecular diagnostic, neuropharmacological and therapeutic mechanisms as applied to mental health care practice
6.    Describe the molecular and cellular basis of a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders
7.    Discuss and communicate scientific data and concepts with mental health professionals and society at large

Course Timetable
The Postgraduate Certificate in Biological Psychiatry is a one-year part-time course.  The course is run during term time on Thursday afternoons from 14.00 to 19.30.  Students are required to take a total of 5 modules over two semesters. The modules are awarded the following ECTS credits:

Module 1: Statistics and Research Methodology and Statistics (10 ECTS)
Module 2: Molecular Neuroscience and Genetics (5 ECTS)
Module 3: Basic and Developmental Neuropsychology (5 ECTS)
Module 4: Neuroimaging and Biomarkers (5 ECTS)
Module 5: Molecular Psychiatry (5 ECTS)
Programme Structure
Assessments will be based on a combination of formative assessment for each Module, based upon in-module coursework, and summative end-of-module written examination.  All course work will be double-marked.  In terms of weighting, Module 1 contributes 10 ECTs while Modules 2-5 contribute 5 ECTs each.