LQH412 Biomedical Research Translation

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2027, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This honours unit will focus on the translation of biomedical research into professional, ethical, and real‑world contexts. You will build understanding of the importance of stakeholder engagement and collaboration with diverse communities, including Indigenous participation, on designing and executing ethical research projects for impact across the biomedical sector. The unit emphasises research translation beyond the laboratory, including intellectual property and commercialisation, and the research funding and entrepreneurial start up landscape.

Through exploration of biomedical careers including higher degree research, industry, government, entrepreneurship, you will gain insight into contemporary professional practice and develop an ethical, culturally safe, and collaborative professional identity aligned with equitable biomedical innovation.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Discuss and analyse the role of interprofessional and interdisciplinary collaboration and consultation with different stakeholders, including consumers, practitioners, scientists and patients, in the research pipeline.
2. Communicate the translational value of biomedical research to professional, commercial, and community audiences, including consideration of societal benefit and First Nations people, commercialisation pathways, and culturally safe engagement.
3. Reflect on personal strengths, values and performance to develop an informed professional identity and career plan aligned with biomedical career pathways.
4. Demonstrate autonomy, initiative and reflective practice in managing independent research activity, including problem-solving, adaptability and professional responsibility in response to research challenges.

Content

Learning Approaches

You will engage through interactive workshops, expert presentations and reflective practice. Workshops enable you to explore career development, HDR pathways, networking strategies, and professional communication in a supportive environment and build artefacts for your Portfolio to demonstrate research impact and professional identity. Guest presentations from a variety of researchers expose you to diverse perspectives and lived experiences within biomedical science.  Online resources and guided reflective tasks support student-driven exploration of career identity, professional values, and research interests, creating a cohesive learning experience that prepares you for future HDR study or employment.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Collaborative activities incorporate structured peer and academic feedback, fostering a supportive learning community and helping you to practice constructive evaluation in preparation for professional environments. Career development activities include reflective exercises with feedback from academics or invited industry guests to help you align your professional aspirations with realistic pathways and industry expectations. You will self-reflect on your research skill development and outcomes and receive feedback from your research supervisory team on your professional development and meeting unit learning outcomes. You are encouraged to discuss this feedback during follow‑up consultations to support ongoing development.

Assessment

Overview

The assessment for this unit consists of a portfolio aligned with the unit learning outcomes related to research capability, professional practice and career development. The Biomedical Career and Research Translation Portfolio require you to articulate career aspirations and communicate the translational value of their research through a career action plan and a commercialisation or societal impact/outreach pitch. Research Placement Performance and Appraisal evaluates your reflective evaluation and supervisor assessment of performance in conducting and demonstration of the biomedical research project. Workshops provide formative support through peer evaluation, constructive debate and timely teaching team feedback.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Biomedical Career and Research Translation Portfolio

This portfolio assessment requires you to articulate your biomedical career aspirations and communicate the translational value of your Honours research to professional, commercial, or community audiences. The portfolio comprises components including: (1) self-reflection on employability and professional capabilities and values; (2) Career and Professional Identity Plan, including development of a public professional profile (e.g. LinkedIn or ORCID), curriculum vitae and a career action plan; (3) a short oral research translation pitch tailored to a nominated audience; (4)  a written future pathway proposal, such as a PhD scholarship application or an alternative career‑aligned proposal (e.g. industry, policy, or commercialisation). Collectively, the portfolio assesses your ability to communicate research impact, demonstrate consideration of societal benefit and culturally safe engagement, and reflect on personal strengths, values, and professional identity to inform their next‑step career pathway.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions. 

The ethical and responsible use of GenAI is authorised in this assessment. Refer to your Canvas site for specific details.

Assessment: Research Placement Performance and Appraisal

Your supervisor/supervisory team will provide formal written feedback of project placement performance focusing on your active engagement in the research setting, collaborative practice, and responsible, accountable, and ethical conduct in line with biomedical research standards. Supervisors comment via a proforma on your professionalism, independence, academic integrity, initiative, and adherence to good laboratory workbook practices, including compliance with guidelines and ethical principles. This is a verified identity assessment component of this assessment. 

In addition, you are required to submit a reflective account of your research project, focusing on your achievements, the development of research skills, and learning experiences, including any supervisory interactions or challenges encountered. This will include a reflection in intellectual property and copyright of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and any impact or contribution your research outcomes have or will have on First Nations people. This provides an opportunity to critically evaluate your performance in the research setting.

The ethical and responsible use of GenAI is authorised in this assessment. Refer to your Canvas site for specific details.

Threshold Assessment:

Satisfactory supervisor report will validate your satisfactory participation in your research project with your research team. There is no resubmission option. 

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

This unit is conducted entirely in traditional university classroom settings, and no risks beyond the ordinary need to be considered. 

Course Learning Outcomes

ST10 Bachelor of Science (Honours)

1. Demonstrate an advanced level of knowledge in one or more discipline area(s) and knowledge of research methods, principles and practices.
   Relates to: Biomedical Career and Research Translation Portfolio, Research Placement Performance and Appraisal
2. Solve complex problems by demonstrating and applying advanced knowledge and skills in scientific principles, concepts and techniques, with scientific rigour
   Relates to: Research Placement Performance and Appraisal
3. Effectively use a range of communication skills to produce a set of research outputs both individually and collaboratively.
   Relates to: Biomedical Career and Research Translation Portfolio
4. Demonstrate professional reflective practices and accountability in scholarship and the research process including awareness of ethical and cultural responsibility.
   Relates to: Biomedical Career and Research Translation Portfolio, Research Placement Performance and Appraisal