Diabetes and obesity

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13 - 17 January 2020

Course details

  • Duration: 5 days
  • Fees:
    -  Medical Doctors -  £985
    -  Nurses and AHPs - £750

      Assessment (optional) - £250

Registration process

Step 1: Email us your qualifications and/or a short CV to cpd@imperial.ac.uk

Step 2: Register Online (for those accepted on the course)

Register interest

This short course is one of the modules from the MRes Clinical Research programme http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/medicine/clinical-research/

It is one of the Pathway specific modules which introduces modern investigative techniques including MRI and metabolomics and provides a deep understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of both types of diabetes, and obesity.

Aims

The module provides an overview of the underlying pathophysiology of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and obesity. Within this module you will evaluate recent research advances in the management and treatment of diabetes and obesity, including appetite regulation. You will also be equipped with skills in identifying patients with diabetes and obesity and their associated risk factors, and assessing data and research in the assessment and treatment of these populations. Your practical skills in appraisal and applied data interpretation in relation to diabetes and obesity are developed.

This module will help you develop a deep understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, and obesity.  You will evaluate recent research advances in the management and treatment of diabetes and obesity, including appetite regulation, and will be equipped with the skills in identifying patients with diabetes and obesity and their associated risk factors. You will build and develop skills in critical appraisal and applied data interpretation in relation to diabetes and obesity research.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, participants should be able to:

1. Propose the most appropriate treatment or management strategies, based on the pathophysiology underlying Type 1 and 2 diabetes and identified risk factors.

2. Propose the most appropriate treatment strategies, based on the aetiology and pathophysiology of weight gain and obesity.

3. Demonstrate the interplay between obesity and type 2 diabetes in prognosis and treatment through a case study.

4. Appraise currently applicable large scale clinical trials investigating diabetes and obesity prevention, management and treatment.    

5. Generate, evaluate and interpret clinical data in healthy, obese and diabetic populations, in order to correctly assess and evaluate intervention and effect in these populations.

Module Schedule

The module is delivered as a 5 day block at the start of term 2. You will be provided with self-directed learning materials prior to the block teaching commencing (flipped learning), which will be used to enhance active teaching sessions during the module. Further formative tasks and support will be available throughout and following the module.

Assessment (optional)

The assessment will consist of one piece of written coursework (approximately 1,500 words) of the generation of, and interpretation of different insulin indexes e.g. HOMA IR, Matsuda, oral disposition index, from an insulin data set, in the context of a patient/research participant case study. You will use the data set to conduct calculations and complete directed questions and justify their decision/answers within the case study e.g. proposing diagnosis/best treatment/intervention and effect of intervention in patients or populations of healthy patients versus those with Type 2 diabetes.

The deadline for the assessment will be end of February 2020.

More information

Topics covered:
  • Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
  • Diabetes and Obesity
  • Diet, ethnicity and Type 2 Diabetes
  • Early life malnutrition and Diabetes risk
  • Bariatric Surgery in Type 2 Diabetes
  • Pharmacological management of obesity
  • Insulin Sensitivity Workshop
  • Beta Cell Function
  • Insulin Sensitivity Workshop
  • Pharmacological management of diabetes
  • Body composition: Theory of measurement methods
  • Energy expenditure / Energy balance: Theory and practice
  • Measuring Body Composition – practical session: anthropometric measurement
  • Measuring Body Composition - Data analysis
  • Appetite regulation: fMRI
  • Paediatric Type 1 Diabetes
  • Changing diet: policy level interventions
  • Genetics of Obesity
  • Genetics and Diabetes
  • New advances in nutrition research: metabolomics: assessment of dietary patterns using metabolic profiling
  • Appetite regulation: brain
  • Class debate: Sugar tax
Final timetable to be confirmed prior to the course

The MRes programme is designed primarily for those with a Clinical or Biomedical background, including Healthcare Professionals.

Introduction / Purpose and Background

The primary objective of the programme is to provide a broad training in and practical experience of designing, implementing, and reporting clinical studies, with the majority of graduates going on to undertake PhD degrees in relevant fields, and other graduates have gone on to work in research and clinical settings as well as Industry.

Link to programme web pages: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/medicine/clinical-research/

A range of learning approaches including team work, e-learning and problem based learning are deployed, with active teaching and learning forming a large proportion of taught activities. Breaks between block modules provides students with space for reflection, integration of concepts e.g. application to their research project, and open-ended problems, for example working on the e-learning based module ‘critical appraisal’.

As this is an MRes programme, the focus is on research, with the research project allowing you to implement essential research skills supported by your supervisor(s). Project options are provided by staff, however, if you have a particular topic in mind this can also be considered. The key criteria are that:

  • the research question is examined using appropriate design and methodology
  • the project is feasible given available time-scales, and
  • the scope and depth are sufficient for Master’s level study

 Course Aims

The aims and learning outcomes of the programme are to allow students to:

1. Utilise innovative technologies in specific areas of clinical research and explain concepts, theories and developments that underpin novel clinical investigation.

2. Apply and justify regulations, including clinical governance and ethics, in the context of clinical research.  

3. Formulate hypotheses and research methodologies by applying the principles that govern research design.

4. Interpret and critically analyse data and information from a wide range of sources using relevant computational tools and packages.

5. Communicate advanced scientific concepts and evidence in a variety of formats

6. Work as part of a team to apply creative solutions and critical thinking to complex clinical problems. 

 7. Develop, implement, troubleshoot and organise a substantial programme of original research in a clinical context.

8. Perform measurement and analysis techniques using appropriate laboratory and clinical methods in a clinical research setting.

 9. Retrieve, manage, analyse and integrate complex scientific information into a specific research area. 

10. Generate novel experimental data and critically appraise their quality and importance in the field of clinical research. 

11. Independently defend novel research findings in the context of the wider literature. 

Course Methods

The course consists of 5 modules given as lectures and hands-on practical sessions. Students undertake 4 compulsory modules (Research Conduct & Clinical Research Measures, Clinical Research Scenarios, Critical Appraisal, Research Project) and one speciality module (either *Human Nutrition, *Diabetes and Obesity, Translational Medicine) depending on the pathway.

*The Diabetes and Obesity and Human Nutrition modules are the modules offered as short courses.

Presenters