skip to content

Biological Sciences Libraries

About the BBS Dissertation Digital Collection

When our Natural Science students start their third year of study, some choose to take the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) course. Part of the assessment for this course is carrying out some form of research often as a dissertation. Many students find having the opportunity to see how other BBS students wrote up their dissertation to be really helpful which is why we have created the BBS Dissertation Digital Collection.

The BBS course is spread out across many different departments so we have grouped dissertations by subject for ease but some of them may cover more than one topic.

How does it work?

You can consult a list of current dissertation titles and then submit a request through our dedicated form. The Biological Sciences Libraries Team will provide you with access to the title(s) you require through Google Workspace for Education. You will be emailed a link to the dissertation which you will need to be logged in to Google with your Cambridge email address to access. If a link does not work, you may need to log out of any personal Google accounts.

The link you receive will provide view-only access with options such as copy-and-paste switched off. You will have access to the dissertation for seven calendar days after which access will be deactivated and you will need to put in a new request to continue your access.

Request a dissertation from the Collection

Make a note of the unique number and title of the dissertation(s) you wish to consult and submit your request through our dedicated online form. Please note that this service is staffed during standard working hours and any requests submitted over a weekend or during a bank holiday or related closure period will be processed on the next working day. Please note that we are aware of some emails getting caught by over-zealous spam filters, so do email us if you haven't received an email back from us within a reasonable timeframe.  

Access to dissertations is given to help provide an idea of what approaches to writing up have been taken by former students. Any content provided within all dissertations belongs exclusively to the original author and is not to be replicated in any way unless the work has been referenced/cited in accordance with good academic practice

The Collection

Genetics
  • #071 - Cellular Reprogramming as a Rejuvenative Therapy (2022/23)
     
  • #083 - Can the male excess in autism diagnoses be explained exclusively by genetic factors? (2022/23)

 

History and Philosophy of Science
  • #016 - Thank you NHS: on solidarity, and why the principles underpinning public healthcare are undermined by the private sector (2020/21)
     
  • #042 - The history of polio eradication campaigns in Pakistan (2021/22)
     
  • #077 - Defining Depression: A Deflationist Account (2022/23)

 

Pathology
  • #002 - From Spanish Flu to COVID-19: what lessons did we learn for pandemic preparedness? (2020/21)
     
  • #004 - Application of metagenomics to limit the impact of infectious diseases on endangered populations (2020/21)
     
  • #008 - Is Alzheimer's a transmissible disease (2020/21)
     
  • #009 - Co-evolution of KIR and HLA in infectious disease and reproduction (2020/21)
     
  • #012 - Repurposed medications for emergency response: lessons learned from SARS-CoV-2 (2020/21)
     
  • #013 - Precision medicine and the future of immunotherapy in cancer treatment (2020/21)
     
  • #019 - NK cells in post-viral symptoms (2020/21)
     
  • #021 - How have genome-wide studies of human genetics helped us to understand the causes of Type 2 diabetes? (2020/21)
     
  • #023 - Key drivers that have affected the relative success of different nations in addressing the early COVID19 pandemic (2020/21)
     
  • #043 - Is African Swine Fever an unassailable challenge for the world’s pig production? (2021/22)
     
  • #062 - “Man’s Best Medicine?” – The Influence of Animal Exposure on The Human Gut Microbiome and Its Role in The Development of Respiratory Allergy (2022/23)
     
  • #067 - Is the 2030 elimination goal of human deaths from canine-mediated rabies in Thailand and Tanzania feasible? (2022/23)
     
  • #069 - Exploring the effect of biomolecular condensate dysregulation on Huntington’s Disease (2022/23)
     
  • #075 - The role of astrocytes in Alzheimer’s disease (2022/23)
     
  • #081 - The prospects of antibiotics for treating inflammatory bowel disease (2022/23)
     
  • #082 - How is deforestation affecting transmission of Yellow Fever Virus in South America? (2022/23)

 

Pharmacology
  • #005 - Hypoxia in breast cancer: the metastatic cascade and possible therapeutic avenues (2020/21)
     
  • #017 - Nature's weapons: can toxins provide the basis for new analgesics? (2020/21)
     
  • #022 - The therapeutic potential of allosteric modulators at the glucagon family of GPCRs for the treatment of TIIDM (2020/21)
     
  • #024 - How might we best treat the consequences of COVID-19 infection? (2020/21)
     
  • #048 - How can knowledge of severe asthma endotypes influence selection and development of targeted pharmaceuticals? (2021/22)
     
  • #049 - Metformin: a promising candidate for repurposing against indications beyond diabetes? (2021/22)
     
  • #050 - Beyond the standard: what are the prospects of new classes of analgesics? (2021/22)
     
  • #051 - Modulating the gut microbiota to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, hype or hero? (2021/22)
     
  • #052 - The mechanism of action of Clostridial neurotoxins (2021/22)

 

Physiology
  • #035 - Do Kisspeptins have a role to play in the treatment of human reproductive disorders? (2020/21)
     
  • #036 - Sex differences in fetal lung maturation and the risk of respiratory distress syndrome (2020/21)
     
  • #037 - Maternal Undernutrition and Programming of Fertility in Female Offspring of Ruminant Livestock (2020/21)
     
  • #038 - The Role of Leptin and Insulin in the Development of the Hypothalamic Appetite Network (2020/21)
     
  • #039 - Developmental Programming of Obesity and Diabetes: Mitochondria as an Epigenetic Mechanism (2020/21)
     
  • #040 - Does Spaceflight Cause an Increased Risk of Internal Jugular Venous Thrombosis? Discuss the Possible Pathophysiology, Preventative Measures and Future Research Avenues (2020/21)
     
  • #041 - COVID-19 and the vascular endothelium (2020/21)
     
  • #044 - Can the principles of organ development be harnessed for lab- or farm-based production of lungs for human clinical transplant? (2021/22)
     
  • #045 - How Can a Mechanistic Understanding of Folate Action Improve the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects? (2021/22)
     
  • #046 - The implication of ACE2 receptor expression in the cardiovascular effects of SARS-CoV-2 (2021/22)
     
  • #047 - The neurobiological aspects of cancer and their potential for future therapy (2021/22)
     
  • #057 - What are the major genetic and environmental factors contributing to the obesity crisis? How can knowledge of these factors improve our understanding of obesity and its treatment? (2021/22)
     
  • #059 - What is the function of the tensor tympani muscle? (2022/23)
     
  • #060 - The Role of Singing in Protecting Against COVID-19 Symptoms (2022/23)
     
  • #061 - Can the presence of secondary neurulation be explained by an evolutionary need for elongation of the body axis? (2022/23)
     
  • #063 - How Does Spaceflight Affect Neurogenesis? (2022/23)
     
  • #064 - Bodybuilding and Mechanotransduction Mechanisms (2022/23)
     
  • #068 - The Role of the Cerebellum in Cognition (2022/23)
     
  • #072 - Targeting Calcium Channels in Cancer (2022/23)
     
  • #079 - The therapeutic potential of irisin to mitigate the risk of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women (2022/23)
     
  • #084 - One-Carbon Metabolism in the Peri-Conceptional Period and its impact on Assisted Reproductive Technologies (2022/23)

 

Psychology
  • #001 - How do gender differences influence autism diagnosis across the lifespan? (2020/21)
     
  • #003 - Socialisation of sex-typed toy play in children (2020/21)
     
  • #006 - How does social context affect adolescent risk-taking behaviour? (2020/21)
     
  • #007 - Is functional brain connectivity altered in autism? A developmental perspective (2020/21)
     
  • #010 - Striking the right balance: how easy is it to be healthy in England? (2020/21)
     
  • #011 - Brain oscillations as biomarkers in anxiety disorders: diagnostic and therapeutic relevance (2020/21)
     
  • #014 - "It's about so much more than just food mum": interoception and anorexia nervosa (2020/21)
     
  • #015 - Sociocultural idealisation of dieting: an conflict between psychological and physiological control of eating (2020/21)
     
  • #018 - Soothing by eating: a gateway to the loss of control over food intake? (2020/21)
     
  • #020 - The impact of parental relationship quality on children's relationships in adolescence and adulthood (2020/21)
     
  • #025 - What are the drivers of vaccine hesitancy and the implications for the future control of COVID-19 in the UK (2020/21)
     
  • #053 - Thinking with Feathers and Tentacles: Is Their Cognition Convergent? (2021/22)
     
  • #054 - Are obsessions and compulsions in OCD the result of pervasive aberrant interoception? (2021/22)
     
  • #055 - Making Leaps and Hitting Boundaries in Reconsolidation: Overcoming Boundary Conditions to Increase Clinical Translatability (2021/22)
     
  • #056 - Do people get more conservative as they get older, or does the society around them just become more liberal? (2021/22)
     
  • #066 - Are interventions for anxiety effective in autistic people? (2022/23)
     
  • #073 - The Impact of Maternal Immune Activation on Neural and Cognitive Development in Offspring (2022/23)
     
  • #074 - "You’re not autistic": Exploration of the Unique Challenges Faced by Non-male Autistic People and Reflection on Their Causes and Consequences (2022/23)
     
  • #080 - Early Life Stress: A Latent Crisis in Healthcare Outcomes (2022/23)

 

Zoology
  • #026 - The influence of extreme weather on animal behaviour and ecology (2020/21)
     
  • #027 - Is Chick Begging an Honest Signal? (2020/21)
     
  • #028 - What Elements Of Human-Animal Interactions Can Be Directly Linked To The Emergence Of Zoonoses? (2020/21)
     
  • #029 - Disease management on the grouse moors of Scotland and Northern England: what are the current issues and how might it be better managed? (2020/21)
     
  • #030 - The Ecological Drivers In The Evolution Of Polymorphic Vision In New World Monkeys And Lemurs (2020/21)
     
  • #031 - How Feasible is the Reintroduction of European Bison (Bison bonasus) to Great Britain, and How May European Bison Improve the Management of British Woodland? (2020/21)
     
  • #032 - What are the proximate causes and ultimate functions of male homosexual mating preference in humans? (2020/21)
     
  • #033 - What are the Ecological Impacts of Introduced Mammals in New Zealand and How Does the Predator Free 2050 Plan Aim to Reverse These Impacts? (2020/21)
     
  • #034 - Approaches to Predicting the Evolution of Influenza (2020/21)
     
  • #058 - Interspecies Hunting Strategies (2021/22)
     
  • #065 - How do the endocrine mechanisms of hosts influence the outcomes of brood parasitism? (2022/23)
     
  • #070 - Can niche construction theory help us to understand equine domestication? (2022/23)
     
  • #076 - How can the trophic rewilding of large terrestrial herbivores be used to mitigate climate change? (2022/23)
     
  • #078 - What do we know about pre-Columbian human populations in the Amazon? (2022/23)

 

Request

  1. Note of the unique number and title of the dissertation(s)
  2. Submit your request

 

Need help?

Contact us if you have any questions about the Collection or need support in accessing resources.