MEDSCI 760 : Early Life Nutrition, Lifelong Health
Medical and Health Sciences
2025 Semester Two (1255) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
This advanced course offers a wide range of research themes relating to alterations in the early life nutritional environment (spanning epidemiology and clinical and pre-clinical studies) and consequences for lifelong health. This includes such areas as nutrition during pregnancy and the impact of poor nutrition on both maternal and child health. Themes around the developmental origins of health and disease will be covered including the importance of nutrition during the "First 1000 days" (i.e. conception until 2 years of life). A key objective is to provide students with the theoretical knowledge and skills to evaluate and disseminate evidence-based research on the role of alterations in the early life nutritional environment on health across the life course.
Course Contacts
Professor Mark Vickers: Course Director
Email: m.vickers@auckland.ac.nz
https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/m-vickers
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | People and Place |
| Capability 2: | Sustainability |
| Capability 3: | Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 4: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 5: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 6: | Communication |
| Capability 7: | Collaboration |
| Capability 8: | Ethics and Professionalism |
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate understanding of self in relation to place, knowledge of research concepts as relates to the context of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the approaches required to achieve sustainable and equitable health outcomes. (Capability 1.1, 1.2 and 2.1)
- Demonstrate knowledge of the general concepts related to the importance of the early life nutritional environment and the developmental origins of health and disease framework. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 4.1)
- Describe and discuss key concepts related to the role of early life nutrition as a mediator of early life programming of later disease. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Describe and appraise potential mechanisms linking an altered nutritional environment (including peri-conception, pregnancy and lactation) and impact on both maternal and infant health outcomes. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Describe and critically review key experimental approaches that provide empirical evidence to support the concept of nutritional programming including strategies for intervention. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Demonstrate effective scientific writing and oral presentation skills. (Capability 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Demonstrate the ability to work in a collaborative environment, ability to self-reflect, and making decisions based on both ethical considerations and scholarly endeavour. (Capability 7.1, 8.1 and 8.2)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Article Critique | 10% | Individual Coursework |
| Seminar presentation | 25% | Individual Coursework |
| Poster presentation | 25% | Individual Coursework |
| Essay | 40% | Individual Coursework |
| 4 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||
| Article Critique | ||||||||||
| Seminar presentation | ||||||||||
| Poster presentation | ||||||||||
| Essay | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 11 hours of lectures, a 1 hour tutorial, 80 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 50 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is expected at scheduled lectures to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including student seminars/poster presentations/tutorials will not be available as recordings.
The course will include live online events including group discussions and presentations. Attendance is required for these activities.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
The intention is to provide an up-to-date view based on the most current research in the field. No single textbook covers the scope of the course, and it is intended that individual lecturers will refer students to 2-3 relevant articles on their topic.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
This course was first introduced in 2024. SET evaluations were highly positive with 100% of respondents noting "strongly agree" as to satisfaction with the quality of the course (Course Score 5.0). A comment was made about assessment tasks. Although detailed guidelines are provided and covered in class and via CANVAS, there was a request to further clarify expectations around these assignments and this will be accommodated in the 2025 offering via further dedicated discussion/tutorial sessions.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.