Bristol Medical School
We’ve grouped the short courses from Bristol Medical School into five themes. Use the links at the bottom of this page to navigate to the other Bristol Medical School short course themes or return to our main training page.
Please note that as courses are provided by Bristol Medical School, you will be taken to the University of Bristol website to complete the booking.
Health research
Genetic Epidemiology
University of Bristol
Start date: 11 December 2024
Duration: 5 days (weekdays only ending 17 Dec)
Delivery: Online
Cost: £1100
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About the course
Genetic epidemiology examines the effect of genetic variation on a disease or a health-related outcome. Since 2007, genome wide association studies have been widely used to detect associations between genetic variants and a disease or a health-related outcome in populations. It has facilitated a wide range of discoveries in the genetic epidemiology field.
This course aims to provide a grounding in a wide range of cutting-edge genetic epidemiological methods for complex traits. It is intended for Epidemiologists, Statisticians, Molecular biologists, Clinicians and Psychologists.
What this course will cover
- Introduction to genetics (optional pre-course videos)
- Introduction to data types and formats
- Heritability and genetic architecture of complex traits
- Genetic association of complex traits
- Related study designs
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Introduction to Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis
University of Bristol
Start date: 13 January 2025
Duration: 4 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £880
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About the course
This course aims to introduce participants to the methodology of systematic reviews and meta-analysis. It is taught by a team of systematic reviewers, research synthesis methodologists, information retrieval specialists and statisticians, including those at the forefront of developing and applying systematic review and meta-analysis methods.
The course is designed for clinicians, researchers, public health specialists and other health care professionals who want to perform and/or evaluate systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The course focuses on systematic reviews of healthcare interventions, although much of the material translates to systematic reviews in other areas. Sessions examine issues in systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies.
What this course will cover
- The need for systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- The important aspects of a systematic review
- How to perform a comprehensive search for relevant literature
- The role of tools to assess risk of bias, including their application to randomised controlled trials
- The basic methods of meta-analysis
- How to use Stata or R software to perform a basic meta-analysis
- The issues in conducting systematic reviews of observational studies
- How to summarise the findings of a systematic review or meta-analysis
- Evaluating the quality of a systematic review
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Questionnaire Design, Application and Data Interpretation
University of Bristol
Start date: 27 January 2025
Duration: 3 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £660
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About the course
Questionnaires are widely used for data collection in health research and evaluation. Their design, use and analysis are key to accurate, comprehensive and complete data. This course is an introduction to questionnaire design, application and data interpretation. It will be delivered by researchers and healthcare professionals experienced in developing, conducting and analysing questionnaire-based research for use in health services research and healthcare.
It covers an overview of processes involved in questionnaire development, testing, administration and data management to provide a basic understanding of the key concepts and approaches when using questionnaires to collect healthcare data and measure outcomes.
What this course will cover
- The basic principles of questionnaire design including developing and testing a questionnaire/outcome measure using qualitative and quantitative approaches
- The important aspects and key issues to consider for administering questionnaires and maximising response rates across a range of health care settings
- How to handle questionnaire data
- How to explore and interpret qualitative and quantitative questionnaire data
How to join
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Introduction to Epidemiology
University of Bristol
Start date: 10 February 2025
Duration: 5 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £1100
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About the course
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions within populations. It is a cornerstone of clinical and public health.
This course aims to provide a grounding in epidemiological study designs and measures of disease risk used in aetiological epidemiology and health services research. It is intended for clinicians, researchers, public health specialists and other health care professionals who have only a basic understanding of epidemiology.
Prior knowledge of basic medical statistics so that you understand findings published in peer-reviewed medical journals is important.
What this course will cover
- Exposure measurement and measures of disease occurrence
- Measures of exposure effect (e.g., risk and odds ratios)
- Study designs (randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, case-control studies; ecological studies and cross-sectional studies)
- Bias and confounding
- Simple regression and interaction effects
- Sample size calculations
- An introduction to causal inference
- The future of epidemiology
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Introduction to Research Governance
University of Bristol
Start date: 10 March 2025
Duration: 2 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £440
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About the course
Health research, whether population based, epidemiological or randomised controlled trials, must comply with a host of standards and legislation. This course is designed for researchers who are new to health research. It will provide an overview of all you need to consider, and signposting further information and support.
You will leave the course knowing:
- Which standards and legislation apply to your work,
- Where to go for further support
- Practical tips on how to fullfil your obligations as a health researcher
Please note that this is an introductory course and not designed for those already experienced in this field who may have specific, complex queries.
What this course will cover
- All aspects research governance and knowledge of the processes involved
- Research governance responsibilities
- When in the research process to start thinking about research governance
- Ethical issues that might arise in your research
- Where to get help and advice
How to join
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Introduction to Empirical Bioethics
University of Bristol
Start date: 18 March 2025
Duration: 3 days (9am – 3.15pm)
Delivery: Online
Cost: £550
More information
About the course
Empirical bioethics is a relatively new field that seeks to integrate ethical (normative) research with empirical research. The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to empirical bioethics, including the reasons for its development, central theoretical issues, and key methods and methodologies.
It aims to introduce you to some of the key problems and challenges in empirical bioethics, but also to explore possible solutions. Importantly, the course aims to develop your ability to think critically about empirical bioethics methodology in relation to your own work, and engage with your peers and tutors.
You will get the most out of this course if you are planning, or just starting to undertake, empirical bioethics research.
What this course will cover
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The rationale behind empirical bioethics
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Structuring and planning an empirical bioethics research project
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Literature reviews in empirical bioethics
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Dialogical and consultative methods in empirical bioethics
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Qualitative data collection and analysis in empirical bioethics
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Standards of practice in empirical bioethics
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Understanding Trusted Research Environments
University of Bristol
Start date: 24 March 2025
Duration: 5 days (half day sessions)
Delivery: Online
Cost: £550
More information
About the course
Trusted Research Environments (TREs) are in many cases now the default pathway to accessing data, representing a step change in how data is accessed for research and introducing new challenges.
This course will introduce some exemplar TREs (e.g. The UK Longitudinal Linkage Collaboration (UK LLC), NHS England TRE and OpenSAFELY) to highlight the different ways TREs function, and some of the strengths and challenges these environments can introduce to research such as the availability of different tools.
We aim to equip researchers with the confidence to work within TREs through awareness of the benefits, challenges and differences that exist across TREs. The course is intended for researchers who want to learn more about conducting research within a TRE.
What this course will cover
- Different approaches to working within TREs
- Insights into the strengths and challenges of different tools that can be used to manipulate data, conduct analyses, and create safe research outputs
- The steps that need to be taken before analysis can be undertaken and once analysis is complete including quality assurance, requesting safe research outputs
- Governance and data standards
- Common approaches to dealing with known challenges
- The importance of patient and public involvement and engagement including fair processing and transparency
- The benefits of developing good practice in documentation not least to support reproducible research
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Molecular Epidemiology
University of Bristol
Start date: 31 March 2025
Duration: 3 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £660
More information
About the course
This course enables participants to develop skills for identifying the causes and consequences of molecular variation within population-based studies. It aims to provide participants with:
- An overview of epidemiological principles that are relevant to population-based molecular studies
- The knowledge and skills necessary to design, execute and interpret population-based molecular studies
The course is intended for individuals engaged in population-based studies who wish to incorporate molecular measures of epigenetic marks, gene expression, metabolite presence, protein abundance or genotype into their research.
A basic knowledge of epidemiology is required, and some understanding of genetics terminology is advantageous. Some practical knowledge of R would be helpful. The course includes information on laboratory-based methods, but is aimed at the non-specialist (i.e. those without first-hand lab experience).
What this course will cover
- The various uses of high-throughput molecular data in epidemiology and medicine
- Key considerations in the design of molecular studies
- Practical analysis of molecular data
- Interpreting the biological function some of the most popular molecular data types
- Methods for deriving and evaluating the performance of molecular biomarkers
- Causality of molecular phenotypes
- Critical appraisal of the molecular epidemiological literature
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Designing and Conducting Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trials
University of Bristol
Start date: 28 April 2025
Duration: 5 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £1100
More information
About the course
Pragmatic Randomised Controlled Trial (RCTs) are the ‘gold standard’ test for evaluating whether a new intervention is better than an existing one. They are routinely used in both real-world healthcare and public health settings.
This 5-day course aims to provide an understanding of the essentials of designing, conducting and analysing pragmatic randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The course examines RCTs evaluating health and public health interventions in primary, secondary and community settings with individual and cluster randomised designs.
What this course will cover
- The need for randomised trials and why and when they are conducted
- How to address the key questions in designing a trial
- Examining issues involved in the planning, conducting and completing a successful trial
- Protocol adherence and missing data
- How to assess patient experiences and incorporate patient and public involvement in trials
- Using strategies to enhance trial recruitment, adherence and retention
- Understanding the distinctive concepts in the analysis of clinical and health economic data in pragmatic randomised trials
- An insight into the experience of being a Chief Investigator and working with registered Clinical Trials Units
How to join
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods
University of Bristol
Start date: 12 May 2025
Duration: 5 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £1100
More information
About the course
This course provides a broad introduction to carrying out qualitative research and how to apply qualitative methods to a range of contexts and study designs. It aims to give an overview and hands-on introduction to the major qualitative research methods based in the social sciences and health-related research.
The course is open to anyone who would like to understand the use of these methods or begin to learn how to use them.
Attendees do not need to have any previous background in or knowledge of qualitative research methods, although some experience of or ideas for a health-related research project using qualitative approaches would make the course more relevant.
What this course will cover
- The importance of qualitative research methods in the study of health, illness, and health services and systems
- How to identify when a research topic requires qualitative research methods, and selecting the most appropriate methods to answer the particular research question
- Research design and ethical issues
- The skills required to conduct in-depth interviews, facilitate focus groups, and undertake observation and/or ethnographic research
- Data analysis (including coding, thematic analysis and computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software)
- Employing qualitative research methods alongside other methods in health research
- Writing up findings for publication
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Optimising Recruitment to Randomised Controlled Trials
University of Bristol
Start date: 12 June 2025
Duration: 1 day
Delivery: Online
Cost: £220
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About the course
This course aims to provide an introduction to the challenges of recruiting people to randomised controlled trials (RCTs). It aims to equip attendees with ways of mitigating or overcoming these challenges.
The course draws on evidence generated by the QuinteT research programme, which specialises in optimising recruitment to RCTs. Course content and examples will be drawn primarily from trials set in secondary care hospital settings that span a range of medical specialities.
What this course will cover
- Common organisational and logistic difficulties that can impede recruitment
- The use of screening logs to monitor recruitment, identify issues, and prioritise solutions
- An overview of the concepts of individual and community equipoise, and their implications for recruitment
- Strategies for engaging with patient preferences for or against trial treatments
- The implications of language and terminology on recruitment when discussing RCTs with potential participants
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Machine Learning with Omics Data
University of Bristol
Start date: 19 June 2025
Duration: 2 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £440
More information
About the course
Health research is increasingly turning to high-throughput molecular datasets (also known as ‘omic’ datasets) to discover novel biomarkers of disease risk and outcome. Unfortunately, the size and complexity of these datasets makes them difficult to manage and prone to many pitfalls.
In this course, we introduce you to the latest approaches from data science for interpreting and extracting useful and reliable biomarkers from these challenging datasets. It aims provide:
- An overview of the principles and methods of epidemiology and data science that are relevant to high-throughput omic studies
- The knowledge and skills necessary to design and utilize population-based omic studies to gain insight and to derive robust biomarkers of exposures and health outcomes
Attendees may have a background in epidemiology, genetics, statistics, public health or a clinical speciality. A basic knowledge of epidemiology is required and some understanding of molecular epidemiology terminology and machine learning would be advantageous. Practical knowledge of R is required as students will be processing large omic datasets in practical sessions.
What this course will cover
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Examples of published omic analyses and models for epidemiological and medical applications
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Statistical methods for preprocessing, discovering patterns and testing associations in omic datasets
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Interpreting the biological relevance of omic patterns and associations
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Estimating the heritability and proportion of variation explained by omic data
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Approaches from machine learning for deriving reliable omic biomarkers for indexing exposures and predicting health outcomes
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Application and interpretation of appropriate metrics for evaluating biomarker performance
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Ethical challenges of developing, interpreting and applying molecular biomarkers
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Essentials of Infectious Disease Modelling and Economic Evaluation
University of Bristol
Start date: 23 June 2025
Duration: 2 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £440
More information
About the course
Mathematical modelling is an important tool that can be used to understand the dynamics of infectious diseases. This 2-day course aims to cover the essentials of infectious disease modelling including economic evaluation. The course will provide attendees with the ability to start understanding modelling studies and work with modellers.
The course is intended for epidemiologists, public health specialists, policy makers and healthcare professionals who work in the area of infectious diseases (human and animal health).
Although the computer practicals will be in the programming language R, no knowledge of R is assumed.
What this course will cover
- What infectious disease models are and when they can be used
- How to actively collaborate with modellers
- Designing a model
- Simulating a model using the programming language R
- How to interpret basic reproduction numbers
- Criteria for disease control
- The principles of vaccination and herd protection
- Using models for economic evaluation
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Introduction to Rates and Survival Analysis
University of Bristol
Start date: 25 June 2025
Duration: 3 days
Delivery: Online
Cost: £660
More information
About the course
This course introduces the analysis of survival-time outcomes, consisting of the time each person “survives” until some specified event occurs. This course aims to give students:
- A grounding in the theory behind the methods most commonly used to analyse rates and survival-time data
- Extensive hands-on experience of their application in Stata software
The course is intended for researchers and analysts who wish to analyse and understand survival-time data (time to event data). The course focuses on popular methods of analysing these types of data, mainly Poisson and Cox regression.
What this course will cover
- Definition of rates and the relation between risks and rates
- Manipulating person-time data in Stata using the st commands
- Analysis of rates using Mantel-Haenszel methods and Poisson regression
- Splitting follow-up time to allow for exposures that change with time
- Introduction to survival analysis
- Log rank tests and Cox proportional hazards regression
- Testing for proportional hazards and modelling non-proportional hazards
- Survival-time data management
- Choosing between survival analysis methods.
Please note that ‘repeated measures’ analyses, in which multiple events or measurements are recorded in the same person over time, are not covered in this course.
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
Overview of Qualitative Review and Synthesis Methods
University of Bristol
Start date: 18 July 2025
Duration: 1 day
Delivery: Online
Cost: £220
More information
About the course
This overview of qualitative evidence synthesis will provide an introduction to the key methods for searching for, appraising and synthesizing qualitative evidence.
This course provides a quick introduction to core methods, with sign posting to key tools and literature.
It is suitable for anyone who is interested in the methods for systematic review and synthesis of qualitative evidence synthesis.
What this course will cover
- Defining qualitative review questions
- Search strategies for qualitative evidence
- Quality appraisal tools
- Different approaches to synthesis of qualitative evidence
How to join
Please note, there are pre-requisites for enrolling on this course – details can be found on the full course listing linked below.
Sign up via the University of Bristol Medical School website
