• Offered for Year: 2026/27

• Module Leader(s): Dr Fiona Cuskin
• Lecturer: Dr James Stach, Professor Paul Race

• Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

This is a Stage 2 Bacterial Biochemistry module. The aim of this module is to introduce a focused selection of topics within molecular microbiology and biochemistry that underpin more specialised areas encountered in Stage 3 and 4.
The module places particular emphasis on protein structure and function, including experimental and computational approaches to protein analysis, alongside core biochemical concepts such as enzyme kinetics. Students will develop knowledge of protein structural determination, protein design, and the use of in-silico protein modelling, as well as practical understanding of enzyme isolation, assay development, and kinetic analysis.
Students will develop skills in computational and laboratory-based techniques, data analysis, and interpretation, and will strengthen their ability to evaluate scientific literature and engage in self-directed learning.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module has two distinct ‘Theory’ and ‘Practical’ components. Prior knowledge of the Theory component is not a requirement for success in the Practical component, although students may draw on relevant lecture material in their project reports.
The Theory section comprises two coherent 5-lecture blocks. The first block covers bacterial primary and secondary metabolism, with an emphasis on enzyme function, regulation, and metabolic organisation. This block includes foundational concepts in enzyme kinetics, catalytic mechanisms, and quantitative analysis of enzyme activity.
The second block focuses on protein structure and function, including experimental approaches to protein structural determination, principles of protein folding and stability, protein design, and the use of in-silico protein modelling tools for analysing protein structure and protein–substrate interactions.
The first practical session will involve a week-long laboratory-based mini-project comprising three consecutive laboratory sessions and associated workshops. This project will focus on enzyme biochemistry and kinetics, including enzyme isolation from cell extracts, SDS-PAGE analysis of proteins, quantitative enzyme assays, and determination of kinetic parameters. Workshops will support data plotting, kinetic analysis, interpretation of results, and relevant biochemical calculations. The mini project culminates with an assessed project write up.
The second practical session will involve a week-long mini-project delivered in a computer cluster environment. Students will complete a structured computational project focused on protein sequence acquisition from public databases, structural prediction, and in-silico modelling of protein–substrate interactions. The second mini project also culminates with an assessed project write up.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures are designed to stress the specific Intended Learning Outcomes, to highlight the key golden nuggets of knowledge need to meet those outcomes, and to give information on further research that could be done to deepen knowledge and understanding. It is expected that at least some of the material has some connection to the Practical Projects, to facilitate the Lab Reports write-ups.

Practicals – these are intended to be as authentic a lab experience as is possible at Stage 2. There will be an element of teamwork – requiring communication and planning skills. The computational practical develops skills in protein sequence analysis, structural prediction, and in-silico modelling, reflecting the growing role of computational approaches in modern biochemistry and biotechnology. The laboratory-based practical focuses on enzyme biochemistry and kinetics, allowing students to develop and apply quantitative experimental skills, including enzyme purification, assay design, and kinetic analysis.
The associated workshops support data analysis, visualisation, and interpretation, and report writing will be aligned as closely as possible with research and industry standards.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

This module is assessed entirely by coursework through two extended project-based reports, each aligned with a distinct practical project week. Together, these assessments are designed to evaluate students’ ability to integrate theoretical knowledge with experimental and computational approaches to address open-ended biochemical questions.

The first assessed project focuses on a laboratory-based enzyme biochemistry and enzyme kinetics mini-project. Students will design and execute enzyme assays in a moderately structured experimental setting, applying appropriate biochemical methods to generate quantitative data (PC3). They will analyse and interpret enzyme kinetics data, including data visualisation, parameter determination, and biochemical calculations, demonstrating appropriate data handling and management skills (PC4). Students will critically evaluate relevant literature to contextualise their findings and support interpretation of kinetic behaviour (PC2), and will demonstrate resilience and problem-solving when experimental outcomes differ from expectations, recognising that multiple interpretations or approaches may be valid (PC10).

The second assessed project focuses on a structured computational protein biochemistry mini-project. Students will critically analyse scientific literature to inform their approach to protein sequence acquisition, structural prediction, and in-silico modelling, addressing questions for which there is no single correct solution (PC2). Students will assume responsibility for decision-making within a moderately structured framework, selecting appropriate databases, modelling tools, and strategies to achieve a defined research aim (PC3). This assessment develops digital literacy through the use of specialist bioinformatics software, online databases, and modelling platforms, and where appropriate the use of command-line interfaces (PC6). Students will be required to evaluate, visualise, analyse, and interpret computational outputs, applying appropriate data management and presentation techniques (PC4). Problem-solving and resilience are developed as students evaluate alternative modelling approaches and justify their decisions using evidence from the literature and their results (PC10).

The two project reports are of similar structure in terms of the outlining of a research aim, presentation of results, interpretation of the results in a biological context and evidence-based support (referencing and citation). This assessment strategy reflects authentic research and industry practice, where both computational and experimental approaches are used to address complex biochemical questions and findings must be clearly communicated in concise technical reports.

Reading Lists

• NES2304's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• NES2304's Timetable