Students with experimental thesis are encouraged to include Bioprocess Engineering, Molecular Genetics, or Cell Biology in the Master’s thesis.

Bioprocess Engineering

The thesis will focus in depth on a specific production or product of a biotechnological nature. The experimental work may span from describing and optimising a limited unit operation to comprising the whole process. One may also couple the thesis to gene technological or cell biological research questions. Depending on the candidate’s specialisation it may also be natural to include an economical analysis (sensitivity analysis) and an assessment of the commercialisation potential. One may include an internship in a relevant enterprise or use a concrete problem from industry.

The field Bioprocess Engineering comprises the theoretical description, the optimalisation and the industrial use of biochemical and biological processes. Such processes include the manufacture of products involving biological/biochemical activity that require careful conservation (biomedicines, diagnostic reagents, enzymes etc). Bioprocess engineering also includes conversion processes in which the activities of enzymes or micro-organisms is essential for production (fermentation/yeasts, enzyme reactors). By utilising selective bio-processes, a number of valuable substances can be extracted from by-products of the food industry and from refined marine raw materials.

Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology

The Master’s thesis in molecular genetics and cell biology will mainly consist of an experimental research project carried out in a biotechnology laboratory. The project is to be structured in consultation with an advisor, and will, with few exceptions, be linked to a larger ongoing project, or projects in relevant companies/regional research communities. Possible research topics relevant to the thesis may be molecular genetics applied to animal or plant breeding, cell biology related to animal reproduction, molecular ecology (flora and fauna, microbial diversity), molecular genetics of development, immune cell biology, gene engineering as a phase of production in a bioprocessing strategy and gene technological methods related to biobank operations. Depending on the organism studied (e.g. bears, wolves etc), a Master’s thesis in molecular ecology may be completed under co-advisement from the faculty at HUC Evenstad. The biotechnology faculty at HUC collaborates with various other research instutions, both in Norway and abroad, and students may choose a project where experiments will be performed at external facilities.

Molecular genetics and cell biology include methods and techniques used to study and analyse life at the molecular and cellular level. In these two inter-connected fields, one primarily works with cells, metabolic systems, nucleic acids, genes and genomes containing, preserving and transmitting all the information governing the constitution of molecules, cells and organisms on earth. Today molecular genetic and cell biology techniques are used in all biology-related fields. Modern pharmaceutical, biomedical and biotechnological industries all base their research on these methods which are also increasingly applied in many other areas, including reproduction biology, animal and plant breeding, immunology, and the elucidation of floral and faunal biodiversity (as part of a sub-field called molecular ecology).