24 May 2001

Fine student specimens at the University of Dundee take to their studies in the sun following their top UK rating for the department of anatomy and physiology. The Dundee department was named best in the UK this week for the teaching of the subjects based on official Higher Education Statistics Agency figures.

Pictured are (left to right) Cathal McGinely from Donegal, Richie Hawkins, from Dundee and post graduate, Pamela Ingram from Dundee.

Head of the department of anatomy and physiology Dr Martyn Ward put the secret of the Dundee success down to "total commitment of staff" and the opportunities afforded to students to work on real projects with scientists of international standing.

He said: "Our links with the Wellcome Trust Biocentre and all the disciplines that make up the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee mean that undergraduates not only see the subject from the molecular right through to the whole body level, they can also expect first hand experience with scientists of the highest calibre. We're delighted to be named the best of the UK's hundred or so universities for teaching anatomy and physiology in a city where the number of life scientists per capita is rivalled only by Cambridge and Oxford."

The University of Dundee came overall 18th in the UK league across all subjects and had four subjects named in the UK's top five - anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, biosciences and English.