School of Life Sciences

The School of Life Sciences is a multi-disciplinary unit comprising Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Psychology and Vision Sciences. All these cognate areas obtained a rating of 4 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

The School has an excellent record in research studentships, accounting for 42% of the University’s total PhDs awarded from 2000 with 66% completing in four years or less.

Some recent areas of research undertaken by students include:

• Formulation of protein polysaccharide matrices with potential applications for drug delivery and hormonal therapy
• Characterisation of a1-adrenoceptors in rodent and human skeletal muscle resistance arteries
• Effects of alcohol on executive function in sober social drinkers; event-related potential correlates of cognitive performance
• An exploration of inter sibling violence (SISV) perpretation and the development of a SISV risk assessment guide
• The effect of virtual reality displays upon ocular motor function and the implications for optometric practice.
• Childhood amblyopia – development of a systematic test protocol for identifying functional visual losses in childhood amblyopia and monitoring treatment efficacy.

Most postgraduates register to do an MPhil or PhD on a full-time basis, with a full PhD studentship being funded for three years, while an MPhil is funded for two years. All students who register for a higher degree at Glasgow Caledonian will register initially for an MPhil/PhD with full PhD registration following the submission of a "Transfer Report" at the end of the first year, though some students opt to submit for an MPhil degree at this time.

If you are interested in a studentship within Life Sciences, please contact us for further details.