Dear students,
Here is a short summary of the information you might need:
- GENERAL INFORMATION AND REGULATIONS
Medical Biology classes include lectures and practical courses during the first and second terms/semesters of the first academic year. They are all mandatory.
Lectures are held by Professor Victoria SARAFIAN – lecturer and head of the Department of Medical Biology and Assoc. Prof. Maria Kazakova, PhD.
Practical courses are held by Assistant Professors – Yana FEODOROVA, Nikolay MEHTEROV , Milena DRAGANOVA, Yordan SBIRKOV, Eleonora KOVACHEVA and Vesselin ALEXANDROV.
The lectures will start from 2 October 2023, and will be held online and the practical courses from 16 October 2023.
Students are obliged to attend both types of classes and to be prepared in advance for the topics/problems to be discussed in the practical courses.
They need white coats, a practical guide, a pad/copy-book, a pen and color pencils.
It is not allowed to change the timing of the practical courses or the assistant professor unless permission by the Head of Department is provided in some special occasions.
At the end of each semester every student has to receive a signature from his practical teacher in the red mark-book to certify his presence during practical classes. Only then he/she can receive the final signature from the lecturer. A student with absences from practical classes is not allowed to attend the exam. Once two signatures (from the practical teacher and the lecturer) are obtained, the mark-book is sealed at the Students’ Office and then the student is allowed to sit for exams.
Students are kindly asked to follow all announcements on the information board at the Department of Medical Biology and on the web-site: https://medbiology.meduniversity-plovdiv.bg/english-courses/
The recommended textbooks are available at the University Bookshop; few copies are at disposal in the Library or they could be found on the Internet.
- SYLLABUS:
The syllabus is composed of 4 major modules:
- Molecular Biology – both lectures and practical courses
- Parasitology – only practical courses
- Cell and General Biology – both lectures and practical courses
- Immunology – both lectures and practical courses
The knowledge of each of the subjects is assessed by current oral examinations and written tests.
- EXAM AND SCORE
Regular assessment - for each semester, the student receives a mark for his or her work based on tests, oral examination or assigned tasks.
Тests in parasitology (written and practical) and immunology are held in the second semester. Students will be able to exempt the relevant module from the final exam if they have an excellent grade.
Parasitology Practical Exam - The students have to recognize 6 cause of parasites and write their 1) Latin names, 2) Morphological form and 3) The diseases they transmit.
At the final exam students have to write a combined test on all modules and a practical exam on Parasitology. If the written part of the first is successful but the student has failed at the practical part in Parasitology he/she has to re-sit the practical part only.
A student who has successfully passed the final exam in Medical Biology is considered one who has passed the written test and the practical exam in Parasitology.
Students who have failed at the final exam in June are allowed to re-sit the final exam test in July.
Each student is allowed to sit for an exam in each discipline only twice – once during the regular session in June and then during the re-sit session in July (for Biology) or in September (for other subjects).
Recommended literature:
- Practical Book Medical Biology for the first year students by V. Sarafian, M. Kazakova, M. Draganova, N. Mehterov
- Paniker’s Textbook of Medical Parasitology by C.K. Jayaram Paniker. 2013; 7th edition; ISBN-10: 9350905345; ISBN-13: 978-9350905340
- Bios instant notes. Molecular Biology by A. McLennan, A. Bates, P. Turner, M. White. 2013; 4th edition; Garland Science, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC; ISBN978-0-415-68416-3
- Bios instant notes. Immunology by P. Lydyard, A. Whelan, M. Fanger. 2008; 8th edition; Garland Science, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC; ISBN 978-0-4156-0753-7
- Janeway’s Immunobiology, by , 2011, 8th edition; ISBN:9780815342434
- Basic Immunology : Functions and Disorders of the Immune by Abul K. Abbas, Andrew H. Lichtman, Shiv Pellai . 2014; 4thedition; ISBN-13: 978-1455707072; ISBN-10: 1455707074
- Human Biology by Starr C. and McMillan B. 2014; 10th edition; Yolanda Cossio; ISBN-13 978:1-133-59916-6
Prof. Victoria SARAFIAN, MD, PhD, DMSc
Head of Department