Dr Scott Cameron

Contact info

s.cameron@abertay.ac.uk

+44 (0)1382 30 8530

Biography

Since August 2019 I have been working as School Head of Teaching Quality and Learning Enhancement, having previously been Interim Head of Division of Science (February-August 2019). I am responsible for ensuring and monitoring QA processes and learning enhancement in the School of Applied Sciences. I work closely with the the SAS Dean, SAS HoDs, other TQLEs, Dean of T&L, Deputy Principal (Academic), AbLE Academy and SAcS in this work.

I am remain teaching and research active (Lecturer in Biomedical Science), teaching mostly to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year Biomedical Science, Food Programmes, Forensic Sciences in the areas of fundamental biology and medical microbiology (particularly in the areas of microbial infection & diagnosis and antibiotic modes of action and mechanisms of resistance). I also teach bioinformatics to various levels and supervise a number of honours project students and supervise a number of postgraduate students undertaking their projects in the area of microbiology and molecular biology at Abertay. I am also the academic lead for the BMS Clinical Placements where student undertake an 18 week placement in an NHS laboratory and complete their Certificate of Competence to graduate as fully qualified Biomedical Scientists ready for registration.

My reserch background is in molecular microbiology and structural biology at Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee, and I am involved in projects at Abertay looking at understanding the microbiology and antimicrobial resitance in environmental reservoirs, such as wild animals and wastewater treatment systems.

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Teaching
Research

As the School Head of Teaching Quality and Learning Enhancement I am responsible for ensuring and monitoring QA processes and learning enhancement in the School of Applied Sciences. I work closely with the the SAS Dean, SAS HoDs, other TQLEs, Dean of T&L, Deputy Principal (Academic), AbLE Academy and SAcS in this work.

I am also the Lead for the Digital Education strand of the Learning Enhancement Strategy 2020-25.

I am currently module leader for:

LSC203: Medical Microbiology

LSC307: BMS Clinical Placement

ADH011: Access to Science and Technology

I currently teach on the following modules:

LSC101: Biology Principles and Practice

LSC203: Medical Microbiology

LSC307: BMS Clinical Placement

LSC309: Perspectives and Technologies in the Life Sciences Sector

I have a pedagogical research interest in the area of online teaching and assessment and feedback, and the integration of problem-based and Enquiry-based learning into teaching, especially via online delivery.

Interests

My current research interests include the role of bacteria in the environment and its link to transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes in environment, and also the in silico modelling of proteins associated with various diseases.

My research background has developed from my undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the area of medical and molecular microbiology.

I completed my PhD thesis on the topic 'Fluoroquinolone and multi-drug resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii', where I developed an interest in antimicrobials, their use, resistance to them and targets for novel antibiotics.

This continued through several post-doctoral fellowships where I worked on bioinformatic analysis of protein sequence and structure, X-ray crystallography of potential targets for antibiotic development and latterly move this on to target validation in protazoan parasites.

This has given me extensive expereience in the following techniques:

Molecular biology: General molecular biology procedures including PCR, cloning, mutagenesis, Southern blotting.

Cell biology: Culture of clinical and laboratory bacteria for research analysis, and eukaryotes (Leishmania tarentolae and Dictyostelium discoidium) for protein expression. Culture and generation of conditional knockouts and RNA interference cell lines of Trypanosoma brucei.

Protein biochemistry: bacterial and eukaryotic expression, purification (affinity, IEX, SEC, RP HPLC), electrophoresis, western blotting, ITC.

Crystallography: Protein crystallisation, data collection and processing by SAD, molecular
replacement and structure refinement and deposition.

Bioinformatics: homology modelling of proteins associated with human disease to help direct research into those disease processes

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More Information

Outreach

I am the Scottish Baccalaureate Academic Co-ordinator at Abertay where I co-ordinate the academic advisors for the Scottish Baccalaureate Interdisiplinary Project with Dundee City Council Department of Education and a number of local High Schools.

I am STEM Ambassador, and have been involved many outreach activities with school age children and the local community. This includes Space School, bringing p4-5 school children into school for hands on activities to support their science studies, and Dundee Science Festival.