MSc in Precision Cancer Medicine
The MSc in Precision Cancer Medicine is a two-year, part-time, online course, that will provide you with the multidisciplinary skillset and knowledge required to design, conduct, and lead precision medicine research.
The course contents have been fully revised and updated, and the 24/25 edition is now open.
The MSc leadership team is comprised of two Course Directors and a Course Teaching Fellow:
- Professor Sarah Wordsworth , University Research Lecturer, Health Economics Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health.
- Professor Anna Schuh, Director of Molecular Diagnostics, and Honorary Consultant Haematologist, Department of Oncology.
- Dr Sevasti Zervou, Director of Studies and Teaching Fellow, Department of Oncology
What is the course about?
Precision medicine is an emerging approach which takes into account variability in the biology, environment, and lifestyle for each individual person to help guide disease diagnosis and treatment. In particular, genetic and genomic data allow us to go beyond conventional histopathological assessment, and classify cancer into distinct sub-entities that guide our choice of the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.
In order to make precision medicine a reality, the clinical development of diagnostics and therapeutics need to go hand in hand. Future leaders, whether in research or in the clinic, will need a broad understanding of the field and an ability to work with a range of stakeholders.
The new MSc in Precision Cancer Medicine was conceived to meet this need and was developed by Professor Sarah Wordsworth, (Nuffield Department of Population Health), and Professor Anna Schuh, (Department of Oncology). The vision for the course is to equip our graduates with a multi-disciplinary understanding, beyond their own area of expertise, and to prepare them for leadership roles at the forefront of cancer medicine.
You will study cancer genomics and pathology, omics techniques, diagnostics, experimental therapeutics, onco-immunology, bioinformatics, ethics and health economics.
Who is the course for?
The MSc is designed for professionals from a variety of backgrounds with an interest in genomics and precision medicine in cancer. Our students will be working in all stages of target discovery, drug development, translation into practice, and health policy. The course will appeal to practicing clinicians and pharmacists at all stages of their career, and academics and industry staff from medical specialists to practitioners in health economics, ethics, bio-informatics and biology.
The course is delivered in collaboration with academics from the following research centres at Oxford:
- Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, Nuffield Department of Medicine
- Oxford Molecular Diagnostics Centre
- Radcliffe Department of Medicine
- Ethox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health
- Health Economics Research Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University
STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Ee Phui Kew, MBBS, is a cardiothoracic surgeon, with a specific interest in thoracic oncology. He undertook the MSc in Precision Cancer Medicine course in 2022-2024 to equip himself with essential knowledge in precision cancer medicine that is changing the landscape of cancer diagnosis and treatment. As his dissertation project, Ee Phui conducted research into targeted lung cancer screening in the UK, which he is continuing to develop, which the aim of real-world application.
MSc Precision Cancer Medicine: A Surgeon's Experience
Sergey Dyshlovoy, Priv.-Doz., PhD, DSc, undertook the MSc in Precision Cancer Medicine in 2022-2024, alongside his full time role as a postdoctoral researcher at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. The knowledge and skills he learned during his studies have inspired him to plan new projects in his lab.
Wen Yuen Lim, MPharm, applied to study MSc Precision Cancer Medicine while working as a pharmacist prescriber in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, wanting to update her knowledge in the ever-changing field of cancer medicine. During her studies, Yen gained knowledge and skills applicable to her daily pharmacy practice and discovered research interests she will continue to pursue in her career.
Studying MSc Precision Cancer Medicine as a Haematology Pharmacist