Biochemistry (Molecular and Cellular)

Applying to St Hugh’s for Biochemistry

As Biochemistry is not taught as an A-level subject, tutors will not expect you to have a detailed knowledge of the subject. However, if you are shortlisted for interview, tutors will be looking for an informed interest in the subject (originating from podcasts, videos, books, magazine articles etc). They will also be looking for an ability to use information (from other school or college science subjects) to analyse and solve problems and to construct your own opinions.

Choosing St Hugh’s for Biochemistry

St Hugh’s enjoys a strong reputation for Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, and undergraduate teaching comprises University lectures (around ten per week), college-based tutorials, and practical laboratory or computer-based sessions. The fourth year includes an eighteen-week research project, in which students design their own experiments, plan a research programme, and write up their findings in a form suitable for publication.

Professor Benoît Kornmann is the Tutorial Fellow in Biochemistry at St Hugh’s, and he is supported by Dr Louise Bird (Lecturer in Biochemistry). Benoît’s research focuses mainly on mitochondria and how mitochondria communicate with their neighbouring environment in an integrated fashion, while Louise is a senior scientist working at the Oxford Protein Production Facility-UK (OPPF-UK). Louise’s main area of responsibility is the high through-put (HTP) cloning and small scale expression screening part of the pipeline. She has developed both expression vectors and methodologies to facilitate the expression of both soluble and membrane proteins.

Biochemists play a growing role in biological, environmental and clinical fields, with areas of employment ranging from healthcare through forensic science to the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Professor Benoît Kornmann

Dr Louise Bird

Studying and living at St Hugh’s

The Department of Biochemistry is located a short walk (or cycle) away, down South Parks Road, and is one of the largest biochemistry departments in Europe.

If you want to find out more details on a specific module, or take a look at current lecture timetables and study resources to get a better feel for the kinds of things you would be learning, you can find all that information on a canvas portal, though the Department of Biochemistry here. You can also see their recommended reading list if you want to find out a bit more about biochemistry before you apply.

Possible careers:

Our undergraduate course provides a solid base for any number of career paths, such as roles in scientific research or development or working on the technical side. Many graduates usually go into the finance sector and another quarter begin working in management, administration,  marketing, sales and the media to local and national government, the voluntary sector, the clergy and the police – although some do branch off into things like teacher training, medicine, law, or accountancy.

Alumni spotlight:

“Studying Biochemistry at St Hugh’s breeds very high academic skills and personal attributes, preparing you to follow many possible paths when you leave. The course content is wonderfully broad and you are introduced to more fields than you could possibly have imagined before coming here. Through the tutors, subject areas that may have been covered quickly in lectures can suddenly become undiscovered fields of great interest to you – my 2nd year brought learning about inactivating X chromosomes in females, a reason behind the patterning of tortoiseshell cats!”

Rodina Peachey
2018 Alumna