Professor Derek Scott | People | The University of Aberdeen

Professor Derek Scott

BSc (Hons) BioMedSci, PG Cert, PhD, FRSB, Deputy Director of Medical Science Teaching, Education Lead for Institute of Education for Healthcare & Medical Science

Chair in Physiology & Pharmacology Education

About

d.scott@abdn.ac.uk

+44 (0)1224 437566

Room 6.37 Institute of Medical Sciences Building

Institute of Education for Medical & Dental Sciences

School of Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition
University of Aberdeen
Foresterhill
Aberdeen
UK
AB25 2ZD External telephone: 01224 437566

d.scott@abdn.ac.uk

School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition

Qualifications

BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences (Physiology)
1999 - University of Aberdeen
Prize for top student in Biomedical Sciences, First class Honours.
PhD Physiological Sciences (Medicine)
2004 - University of Aberdeen
Jointly supervised by Professor Gordon McEwan (UoA) and Professor Harry McArdle (Rowett Institute of Nutrition & Health) PhD focused on characterization of divalent metal ion transport in the human small intestine using electrophysiology and molecular biology. Physiological Society Pfizer prize for oral communication.
PGCert Therapeutics
2008 - The Robert Gordon University
Awarded with distinction

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships

Deputy Director of Medical Science Teaching
Education Lead, Institute of Healthcare & Medical Sciences
Lead for Medical Sciences, Science Teaching Hub Project Management Group
Chair, Life Sciences & Medicine Library Committee
Member, Medical Sciences Teaching Executive
Member, School Blended Learning Steering Group
Member, School Education Steering Group
Member, Physician Associate Steering Group
Member, Medical Sciences Marketing Group

External Memberships

Education Theme Lead - Physiological Society of Great Britain (2016-2020)
Member of Physiological Society Education, Public Engagement & Policy Committee.
External Examiner in Phase I Medicine for the University of Newcastle (2008-12); MPharm for Robert Gordon University (2020-2024); BSc Personalised Medicine, University of Ulster (2021-).
Reviewer for British Journal of Nutrition & British Journal of Anaesthesia; European Journal of Nutrition; Social Science & Medicine; MRC Fellowships; HAPS Educator; Advances in Physiology Education.
External Member of Internal Teaching Review panel for Sports-related degrees at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2012); School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Leeds (2019).
Reviewer for various textbook publishing companies.
Local co-organizer of Physiology 2019.

Latest Publications

Introducing the HAPS Physiology Learning Outcomes
2023 - Published
Silverthorn, D., Cafferty, P., Casagrand, J., Co, E., Flemming, M., McFarland, J., O'Loughlin, V., Scott, D. A., Tomicek, N.
HAPS Educator, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 79-86
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.21692/haps.2023.010
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/20747/1/PLO_HAPSEd_APRIL_2023.pdf
Using Game of Thrones to teach physiology during lockdown and beyond.
2022 - Published
Scott, D. A., Hislop, J., Murray, F., Thompson, D.
Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations
Physiology students can use Quality Improvement methodology to contribute to the prevention and management of falls during stroke rehabilitation.
2022 - Published
MacSween, M., Brodie, L., Scott, D. A.
Europhysiology 2022
Contributions to Conferences: Posters
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/19649/1/Macsween_et_al_Europhysiology_2022_poster.pdf
Use of infographics to develop and assess students’ communication skills – a comparison between two institutions.
2022 - Published
Woloszynowska-Fraser, M., Scott, D. A.
Contributions to Conferences: Posters
Developing new online resources on statistics and data handling for medical science students
2022 - Published
Cunningham, C., Scott, D. A.
Europhysiology 2022, pp. 404
Contributions to Journals: Abstracts
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.13876

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

College of Life Sciences & Medicine Excellence in Teaching Award (2010).

Inaugural Winner, Principal's Teaching Excellence Award (2018/19).

Winner, Principal's Teaching Excellence Award (2021/22)

Nominee for: Best Postgraduate Taught Lecturer, Mental Health Champion, Outstanding Contribution to Accessibility and Inclusivity in Blended Learning. Shortlisted for Outstanding Contribution to Accessibility and Inclusivity in Blended Learning (2020/21).

Research

Research Overview

My research interests have 3 main themes:

Proton-coupled nutrient transport in mammalian small intestine (with Dr. Gordon McEwan and Prof. Harry McArdle).
· Use of electrophysiological, microspectrofluorometric and molecular biology techniques to investigate transepithelial transport mechanisms for divalent metals (iron, zinc, copper) across polarised cultured human intestinal epithelia.
· Regulation of these metal transport processes by intracellular second messengers and protein kinases.
· Measurement and regulation of the proton source for these transport systems, an area of maintained low pH at the mucosal surface of mammalian small intestine, termed the acid microclimate.

Inflammatory bowel disease
· Possible causes of inflammatory bowel disease.
· New pharmacological and surgical approaches to treatment.
· Physiological adaptations in individuals with ileo-anal pouches and stomas

Teaching
· Use of Personal Response Systems (PRS’s), infographics, practical skills testing and high-fidelity human simulation to improve the teaching and learning experiences of students and staff in biomedical sciences.

Research Areas

Biomedical Sciences

View Research Area

Research Specialisms

Pharmacology
Pharmacy
Healthcare Science
Physiology
Pre-Clinical Medicine

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is HESA open data, published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

Teaching

Programmes

BSc Biomedical Sciences (Physiology)
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
BSc Physiology
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSci Biomedical Sciences (Physiology) with Industrial Placement
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
BSc Biomedical Sciences (Pharmacology)
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSci Biomedical Sciences (Pharmacology) with Industrial Placement
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
MSc Clinical Pharmacology
Postgraduate, 3 stage, September start
BSc Immunology and Pharmacology
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSci Immunology and Pharmacology with Industrial Placement
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
BSc Pharmacology
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSci Pharmacology with Industrial Placement
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
BSc Biomedical Sciences (Anatomy)
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSci Biomedical Sciences (Anatomy) with Industrial Placement
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
BSc Sports and Exercise Science
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSci Sports and Exercise Science with Industrial Placement
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
BSc Exercise and Health Science
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSci Exercise and Health Science with Industrial Placement
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
MBChB Medicine
Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
BDS Dentistry
Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
MSc Physician Associate Studies
Postgraduate, 3 year, January start

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

Course coordinator:

BM4301 The Science of Ageing: From Cradle to Grave
PY3002 Integrative Physiology
AN4003 Brain Function & Malfunction (with Anatomy)
BM3502 Neuroscience & Neuropharmacology
SM4901 Biomedical Sciences General Paper
SM3901 Arcadia Summer Research Programme

Publications

Update

Qualifications

Memberships and Affiliations

Latest Publications

Introducing the HAPS Physiology Learning Outcomes

Using Game of Thrones to teach physiology during lockdown and beyond.

Physiology students can use Quality Improvement methodology to contribute to the prevention and management of falls during stroke rehabilitation.

Use of infographics to develop and assess students’ communication skills – a comparison between two institutions.

Developing new online resources on statistics and data handling for medical science students

Prizes and Awards

Research Overview

Research Areas

Biomedical Sciences

Research Specialisms

Programmes

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

Introducing the HAPS Physiology Learning Outcomes

Using Game of Thrones to teach physiology during lockdown and beyond.

Physiology students can use Quality Improvement methodology to contribute to the prevention and management of falls during stroke rehabilitation.

Use of infographics to develop and assess students’ communication skills – a comparison between two institutions.

Developing new online resources on statistics and data handling for medical science students

Educating the next generation of healthcare professionals: Contribution of Physiology teaching

How are Healthcare students taught about the physiology of dying?

We need to talk about death

Assessing science students’ practical skills – can we learn from healthcare education?: Healthcare educators have developed effective ways to assess a range of practical skills in their learners. What can other science educators learn from their example?

An evaluation of Medical Sciences skills to inform Co-curricular Enhancement

Developing online resources on statistics and data handling for medical science students

Virtual delivery: a panacea for the financial and ethical challenges associated with physiology laboratory classes?

Physiology students can use a quality improvement approach to support a safe and efficient medication pathway in geriatric rehabilitation

International educators’ attitudes, experiences, and recommendations after an abrupt transition to remote physiology laboratories

Insights Arising from Virtual Laboratory Experiences of 2020. A Focus on Financial and Ethical Challenges of Face-to-Face and Online Physiology Laboratories

Physiology educators’ attitudes, experiences and recommendations after an abrupt transition to remote laboratories

Pupil-led biomedical lessons for primary school children: a pilot study

Soapmaking 101 - Exploiting COVID-19 to teach practical science and analytical skills remotely

Using Game of Thrones to teach neuroscience and neuropharmacology during lockdown

Virtual laboratories: a panacea for the financial and ethical challenges associated with face-to-face physiology laboratories?

Insights Arising from Virtual Laboratory Experiences of 2020: A Focus on Financial and Ethical Challenges of Face-to-Face and Online Physiology Laboratories.

Physiology students can use a quality improvement approach to support a safe and efficient medication pathway in geriatric rehabilitation

Primary School Children can Take the Lead in Teaching Anatomy and Physiology to their Peers

Student Perceptions of Infographics for Poster Projects – A Cohort Comparison

Using Infographics to Help Students Understand and Communicate Anatomy and Physiology

Physiology 2019, Aberdeen

Emerging Ideas for Paperless Laboratory Classes

Impact of a Final Year Skills Workshop Series for Undergraduate Medical Science Students

Use of student-created video resources to enhance science practical skills training

Adapting Objective Structured Practical Examinations (OSPE’s) to assess laboratory science skills

Bringing Science to Life – Teaching Metabolism through Augmented Reality

Effectiveness of a Final Year Honours Project Skills Workshop

Exploring the “Paperless” Lab – New Ideas and Novel Pedagogy

Use of gamification to improve student revision of physiological and pharmacological concepts—a pilot study

Use of student-created video resources to enhance science practical skills training

Using infographics to revitalise a physiology communications skills assessment

Women in Physiology: Development of an educational resource to improve awareness of the contributions of historical female physiologists

An Assessment of Students’ and Health Professional’ Abilities to Site Stomas Accurately on Human Cadavers

Assessing Geriatric Proton Pump Inhibitor Prescribing and Polypharmacy in General Practice with an Educational Intervention by Physiology Students

Clarifying Renal Clearance: An educational approach using visualisation of virtual volumes via student-developed video resources

Easy as 4-AT: Improving Delirium Screening in Acute Elderly Admissions with a Targeted Educational Intervention –A Pilot Study: Physiology students can help the NHS identify reasons for poor staff compliance with physiology screening tools

Image fraud and confidentiality as vehicles for learning about ethical issues in medical science teaching, a pilot study

Perceptions of using infographics for physiology poster projects – a comparison between cohorts: Help students communicate science to a wider audience: Use infographic posters

Student-created video resources can enhance medical science practical class assessment

Using infographics to revitalise a physiology communication skills assessment

Physiology 2019

Student perceptions of Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) assessments

Easy as 4-AT: Improving Delirium Screening in Acute Elderly Admissions with a Targeted Educational Intervention

Two Years On: How the Core Curriculum has Shaped Pharmacology Courses at the University of Aberdeen

Development of a LabTutor experiment to simulate an in vitro Ussing chamber frog skin practical

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