Human Biology and Infectious Diseases

Human biology and infectious diseases addresses two of the most fundamental concerns of biological science: how the human body works, and how microorganisms interact with it to cause disease. Human biology provides the physiological and anatomical foundation, covering the systems and processes that sustain human life. Infectious diseases brings virology, bacteriology, parasitology, immunology and epidemiology to bear on the question of how pathogens are transmitted, how they cause harm and how the body and medicine respond.

The combination creates an unusually integrated understanding of human health and disease that has direct relevance to medicine, public health, clinical science and biomedical research.

This three-year full-time degree at the University of Salford is one of the few outside medicine to combine aspects of human physiology, immunology and infectious diseases so directly. It includes a sandwich year with a work placement, giving you professional experience in a clinical, laboratory or public health setting as part of the programme. You will explore the pathology, transmission and epidemiology of infectious diseases affecting both humans and animals, developing laboratory skills alongside the theoretical understanding needed to analyse and respond to outbreaks and to evaluate the scientific evidence that informs public health decisions.

Graduates work in NHS microbiology and virology laboratories, public health agencies, biomedical research, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, global health organisations and infection control in clinical settings. The combination of physiological and infectious disease knowledge provides an excellent foundation for postgraduate training in clinical science, biomedical science, public health, medicine or pharmacy. Further academic study at master's or doctoral level in infectious diseases, epidemiology or immunology is a common route for those pursuing research careers.