Please refer to the MBIOTECH Canvas course site for the current semester’s timetabling information. 

Please visit NUSMods for the NUS timetable builder.

For students admitted in AY2022/23 onwards,

Students need to read and pass three core courses (12 units), 8 units of restricted elective courses and maximum 20 units of courses from the list of free restricted elective courses.

*Singapore Citizens/PRs admitted in AY2022/23 and AY2023/24 may be eligible for course fee subsidies for SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) funded courses.

Core and Restricted Elective Courses

BL5213 – Protein Design and Engineering (4 units)
The course focuses on design and engineering of proteins and enzymes. The main objective is to teach students various state-of-the-art methods and strategies used in protein design and engineering. It encompasses the fundamentals of protein structure, de novo design of structural and functional proteins and peptides, structural engineering of proteins for novel functions, design and development of “mini proteins” and design of peptide mimetics. Graduate students with inclination towards designing and developing new proteins, protein and peptide-based therapeutics, and peptide mimetics.

BL5601 – Case Studies in Biotechnology (4 units)
Students will examine a diverse range of biotechnology ventures including diagnostics, agriculture, devices and services, and therapeutics. Students will develop critical perspectives on both technical and entrepreneurial aspects of biotechnology through projects in which students research and develop materials for realistic case studies.

BL5602 – Genetic Engineering in Biotechnology (4 units)
This course focuses on development of variable genetic engineering technologies in microorganisms, plants and animals as well as their applications in agriculture, medicine and environmental management. We will present popular examples of genetically modified organisms and discuss their impacts on biotechnology and society. This course will also cover the regulatory aspects of generation and marketing transgenic organisms, controversy and bioethics. We will also offer two simplified practical classes for students to have hand on experience to deliver genes into animal and plant cells and for observation of expression of foreign genes in transgenic organisms.

BL5699 – Capstone Project in Biotechnology (8 units)
This is an independent, project-based course that can be completed in most cases without experimental laboratory work. Students will complete a Master’s-level project related to biotechnology. Rather than a onesize-fits-all project course, students will initiate, carry out, write up, and present their project in one of several possible frameworks, with learning outcomes and assessment criteria appropriate for a master’s level programme. Faculty will serve as student mentors. Frameworks for projects include the following: systematic review and meta-analysis; emerging technology review; business development or new technology proposal; computational analysis project; and computational methods project. 

BL5203 – Molecular Recognition and Interactions (4 units)
Molecular recognition forms the basis of cell signaling networks that are used in various organisms to regulate responses to extracellular and intracellular stimuli. The course focuses on recent progress in our understanding of how various signals are integrated and regulated at the molecular level to ensure cell homeostasis. The mechanisms underlying such regulation including the host cell defense will be examined while pathologies related to signaling defect as possible targets of intervention will also be demonstrated using molecular modeling. Students with background in biology and chemistry and interested in protein-ligand interaction and drug designs are recommended to read this course.

BL5224 – Signalling Mechanisms in Cancers and Metabolic Diseases (4 units)
Cancers and metabolic diseases including diabetes and obesity are major health issues facing the whole world. The course will examine the various signalling mechanisms that are implicated in the manifestation of the disease processes, the interlink between the different pathways and the identification of potential drug targets. This course will start by focusing on the major signalling pathways that are implicated in cancers and metabolic disorders. Covered topics include cancer-related molecular signalling (the tumor suppressor p53, wnt, TGF-beta signalling and deranged metabolism in cancers) Molecular basis of caners. Also, the cancer stem cells, RNA biology and Drug design for Cancers.

BL5623 – Infectious Diseases and Host-Pathogen Interactions (4 units)
Almost 90% of the infectious diseases related deaths in the world are caused by pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea, malaria, measles and AIDS. When the pathogen (e.g. bacteria or virus) interacts with the host (human or animal), it will divert the function of the host cells for the survival and benefit of the pathogen; causes infection and becomes disease. The major aim of this course is to discuss the causes, prevention, remedies, and economic implications of the common infectious diseases as well as the vectorborne infectious diseases such as Dengue and Zika fever.

Elective Courses

Please note that not all elective courses are offered every year. It would depend on the availability of the teaching staff and course demands. 

BL5202A – Biophysical Methods in Life Sciences (4 units)
This course is concerned with biological macromolecules and complexes or arrays of macromolecules. The contents deal with conveying the major principles and concepts that are at the heart of the field. These principles and concepts are derived from physics, chemistry, and biology. The various topics to be discussed will cover some of the techniques used in studying structure and function of biological macromolecules, excitable cell membranes and ion channel activities. The emphasis is on a detailed discussion of a few techniques rather than an attempt to describe every known technique.

BL5214 – Advanced Proteins NMR (4 units)
The objective of this course is to enable students to understand the principles behind various protein NMR experiments and allow them to apply those experiments to study protein structural and dynamical properties. The major topics covered includes NMR phenomenon and parameters; multi-dimensional multinuclear NMR experiments; relaxation and dynamics; NMR protein sample preparation; backbone and side chain assignment; and restraints for NMR protein structure calculation. Graduate students who are or will use NMR for biological research are strongly encouraged to take this course. This course will also be useful for students in structural biology and protein engineering.

BL5215 – Macromolecular X-ray Crystallography (4 units)
This course is aimed for all graduate students in various research institutes, who are aiming to undertake X-ray crystallographic technique as a major technique for protein structure determination.

BL5216 – Advanced Genetics and Genome Sciences (4 units)
The course is directed toward graduates with basic molecular biology and genetic backgrounds who are interested in conducting genomics-based research. The course will also introduce the unique aspects of different model organisms and approaches to understand their gene function. The course aims to equip the students with the latest knowledge on characterizing and understanding genomes in the broadest sense. Upon completion of the course, the students will be able to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of large scale genomic studies. They will also be able to apply the modern genetic techniques across different model organisms.

BL5221 – Plant and Microbial Development (4 units)
The lectures and subsequent tutorials and/or discussions will introduce the students to key concepts in plant and microbial development. It will then go on to provide in-depth insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying cell fate determination during major developmental events in various systems such as plants, fungi and microbes. The course encompasses special topics such as fungal dimorphism, microbial dormancy, quorum sensing, transfer and intracellular transport of pathogens, pathogenesis, gametogenesis, endosperm development, apomixis and RNA interference. Intended for fresh graduate students familiar with basic knowledge about cell biology and development.

BL5223 – Advanced Molecular Genetics (4 units)
The lectures and subsequent tutorials and/or discussions will allow in-depth survey and critical analysis of molecular genetics, beginning with basic principles and extending to modern approaches and special topics. The course will draw on examples from various systems such as Drosophila, C. elegans, yeasts, human, plants and bacteria. The course encompasses advanced treatment of the Central Dogma of molecular biology and covers recent developments in the molecular understanding of genetic information transfer from DNA to RNA to protein, using current examples. Building upon this platform, the course will then proceed to special topics such as Prions, epigenetics, modular signaling cascades, ion channels, membrane dynamics and cellular energetics. It will also provide a broad overview of Protein folding and function. Intended primarily for new graduate students familiar with basic molecular biology and genetics

BL5226 – Novel Applications in Bioimaging Sciences (4 units)
This course will focus on the discussion of most recently developed imaging techniques and their application in biological sciences. It is directed towards graduates with basic cell and molecular biology backgrounds. Upon introduction into the technical background of the most relevant modern imaging methods (such as Super-Resolution Microscopy, Cryo-EM, Advanced Confocal Microscopy etc.) graduate students will give presentations on application of these techniques as published in the most recent literature. Reference to own research projects is strongly encouraged. It will be discussed how such techniques can help to address open questions in the student’s research studies.

BL5232 – Introduction to Bioimaging (4 units)
Bioimaging is one of the major emerging research areas in biological research due to the wide range of methods available with excellent temporal and spatial resolution. This allows us nowadays to test biological events at the single molecule level. The course aims at introducing the interested student to basics in the field. It will cover the basic physical principles of the diverse bioimaging techniques (electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, atomic force microscopy and light microscopy) and will cover the basic mathematical needs for a quantitative interpretation of bioimaging data (data evaluation techniques, error treatment).

BL5232A – Practical Bioimaging A: Electron Microscopy (4 units)
The course aims at introducing the interested student to the practical basis to achieve good images in electron microscopy. Students will perform hands-on experiments on the different microscopes in the Centre of Bioimaging Sciences and will get a basic training to allow them to take images independently.

BL5232B – Practical Bioimaging B: Light Microscopy (2 units)
The course aims at introducing the interested student to the practical basis to achieve good images. Students will perform hands-on experiments on the different microscopes in the Centre of Bioimaging Sciences and will get a basic training to allow them to take images independently.

BL5232C – Practical Bioimaging C: Hands-on Microscopy (2 units)
The course aims at introducing the interested student to the practical basis to achieve good images in microscopy. Students will construct their own microscopes and perform hands-on experiments on the different microscopes in the Centre of Bioimaging Sciences and will get a basic training to allow them to take images independently.

BL5235 – Advanced Optics for Microscopy (2 units)
The aim of the course is to describe the physical principles at stake in a microscope. The principles of light emission, the notion of coherence, of diffraction, of adsorption, of interferences and of spatial filtering will be presented in the context of imaging of biological samples. The course aims at providing a deeper understanding and physical grounds to the various practical approaches implemented in a microscope. The idea is to follow the imaging path of a light microscope and to introduce physical principles and mathematical simplest formalism to understand the underlying mechanism in the acquisition of biological relevant images.

BL5631 – Practical Analysis of Genomic Data using R (4 units)
This course will develop skills for genomic data analysis in biotechnology using realistic problems in target validation and precision medicine.  The working environment will be in the programming language R on desktop workstations. This course will prepare students for more advanced analysis with larger data sets and more diverse genomic data.

BL5632 – Genomic Data Science in the Cloud (4 units)
Large genomic data sets are ubiquitous in modern biotechnology studies, and so large computing problems are increasingly handled using cloud computing instead of desktop workstations. This course will develop skills for genomic data analysis using realistic problems in analysing drug action and target validation studies. The working environment will be in the programming language R and cloud-based Amazon Machine Instances (AMIs) running Linux.

BL5661 – Urban Agriculture and Crop Biotechnology (4 units)
The course will cover the key challenges to sustainable food production arising from climate change. The need for indoor agriculture will be examined along with the cutting-edge precision agricultural technologies associated with this form of urban agriculture. The importance of scientific research in food security will be discussed with genetic solutions, including GWAS, marker-assisted breeding, and genome editing. Furthermore, the key challenges unique to urban indoor farming such as diseases, pests, abiotic stresses will be reviewed. There will be talks by guests from local industry, along with mini projects and seminars by students to enrich their learning outcomes.

BL5662 – Biotechnology in Aquaculture (4 units)
Aquaculture is on pace to replace fisheries as the major source of protein for global population. However, traditional aquaculture practises are facing challenges in sustainability and environmental impacts. These challenges are being addressed by advances in breeding technology, health management and engineering solutions. The course will also examine the impact of global climate change on the business.

For continuation of candidature, a student must obtain satisfactory progress during their candidature.

1. Academic warnings will be issued to students if their GPA falls below 3.0 (but ≥2.50); and
2. Dismissal and/or refusal of readmission will be issued to students if their GPA falls below 2.50 for two consecutive semesters of study; or GPA below 3.0 (but ≥2.50) for three consecutive semesters of study.

To be awarded the MSc in Biotechnology, the student must successfully complete a programme of study consisting of at least 40 units with a minimum GPA of 3.00, which consist of the following:

1. Core courses (12 units)
2. Restricted elective courses (8 units)
3. Free elective courses (20 units)

Important Information

For enquiries, please email us at mbt@nus.edu.sg