‘Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.’ Aristotle could not be more right. Having passion for
work is critical, and I believe that this is true of anyone who works in a scientific field. Asked, what in my
opinion, is the most precious gift education has given me; I would say that it is the ability to learn ‘how’
and the courage to ask ‘why’. It is this curiosity to learn new things that drives me to pursue further
education in Biomedical science. It’s been seven years since my incipient enchantment with biology
and I am still just as fascinated by every small aspect of it as earlier, I remember this one time I was
performing Immunofluorescence experiment and was very excited to see dividing cells under microscope.
Seven
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I had not realized till then the enormous potential it held and it inspired me. I remember
comparing it with a nuclear bomb, its capacity to affect large masses, albeit in a positive sense. By 17, I
knew that I wanted to do research. That was the basic idea, but as time went by, it became clearer to me
about what I wanted to do.
Compared with numerous other applicants, I believe that my unique advantage dwells in the strong motivation
in life science that I have maintained over the years. But more importantly, it is embodied by the academic
success I have achieved in my 4-year undergraduate education in Biotechnology and in the development
of strong ability to perform independent medical research in my work experience as an Intern. The
undergraduate study has given me a comprehensive exposure to a wide spectrum of courses, namely,
Immunology, Drug design and toxicology, Genetic Engineering and Application, Molecular Biology,
Microbiology, Bioanalytical Instrumentation, Cell biology and Genetics, Health Diagnostics, etc.
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My preliminary research did give me some answer but I was not satisfied, that is how I
developed interest in this particular field. Immunotherapy has had set backs because of the tumor
immune evasion. I would very much like to understand the reason for the anergy of tumor-infiltrating
lymphocytes. Aberrant regulation of micro RNA (miRNA) has been a recurrent theme in Cancer field.
I would like to examine there is a specific role miRNA plays in triggering T cell anergy during tumor
initiation and progression, study the interaction between miRNA and its target in the context of
lymphocyte activation and develop a strategy to regulate it. In the Immunology department of Mayo
Graduate School, I find the work done by Dr. Haidong Dong, on understanding the immune suppression
in ovarian cancer by Tumor-infiltrating programmed death receptor-1+ dendritic extremely interesting.
I am also eager to learn from Dr. Keith L. Knutson, as I find his work on Cancer vaccines and Adoptive T
cell therapy fascinating.
My stimulus to pursue my goal came from my visits to the Pediatric Oncology department
of Kidwai Memorial Oncology Institute. There I interact with children suffering from cancer, teach
Pediatric oncology has been so very rewarding in many ways, but also so very cruel in a few ways. The good days are great, but the sad days are heartbreaking. But beyond the death and the suffering, there is a whole other layer of
Scientists are looking to to find out the reason lymphocytes turn into cancer, why they grow faster or live longer than they should. Once this is understood, the focus will be on finding a cure for the disease. There are new drugs being tested on patients, studies are being done on how to improve stem cell transplantation, and new drugs are being tested.
Progress and innovation are key components to discover new possibilities to fight against childhood cancer. To begin with, my interest in healthcare sparked when I was diagnosed with childhood sarcoma cancer at the age of seven. As a cancer
The AMGEN Summer Scholars research experience will contribute to my plans to become a M.D./Ph.D. candidate, and ultimately an Oncologist, by helping me develop critical and independent thinking as well as creative skills as they relate to the field of medicine. It will also help me develop a more thorough understanding of biological concepts, how they directly apply to medical treatment, and the ways in which biotechnology fuses multiple fields of science to create technologies to care for others. The opportunity to assist in creation of the technologies that will be used on my future patients will ultimately improve my ability to treat their illnesses in adaptive ways. The opportunity I would have to read, interpret, and be a part of creating
Our immune system protects our bodies from pathogens like bacteria and viruses very efficiently in most cases. One big question that has come up is why does the immune system not respond to cancerous cells in the same way? Why are cancer cells not eradicated like other dangerous foreign cells? This seems very strange, especially since the immune system has cells that are specific to destroying cancer cells and virus-infected cells, called natural killer cells. To begin to answer this question it is useful to examine cancer cells and their interactions with the immune system in more detail.
The immune system is set up in which it eliminates cancer, but it is controlled by inhibitory receptors and ligands (an ion or molecule that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex). These check points in which maintain self-tolerance and help restrict collateral tissue damage can be altered by cancer cells. Through the research done on these checkpoints they have discovered a possible new treatment approach. If CTLA-4 (CTLA-4 is a protein receptor that is an immune checkpoint which downregulates immune response.) blockade mediates tumors, then it is possible to amplify that molecule. Some studies show that CTLA-4 can act as a direct inhibitory receptor (for cells such as CD8 T), inhibiting T cell activation. CTLA-4 would
Students can pursue a joint M.D. /Ph.D. in Cancer Biology or enroll in a research fellowship or residency program. These can include a 3-year clinical research fellowship in oncology or a 4-year residency program in radiation oncology.” (Stanford). You will first complete the required medical program and then begin on your residency and during that time you will begin to specialize in Pediatric Oncology.
As a laboratory prep, I was able to set up labs for freshmen and sophomore biology classes. Also, I made visits to my professor’s labs to observe the procedures graduate students used for their experiments and I loved it. After completion of my freshman year, I participated in the “Maternal Child Health Pipeline Training Program” that following summer. I conducted field research that focused on the public health of mothers and children in rural communities. The fall semester of sophomore year, I shadowed graduate students studying breast cancer cells. Later that same year, I began my own research with laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Upon my junior year, I was accepted into the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medical Program in Auburn, Alabama. At the same time, I was accepted into the Tropical and Infectious Diseases Association in Iquitos, Peru. I was able to study abroad and work in a lab focusing on the negative gram bacteria that was in the water of the poor community of Iquitos, Peru. All of the opportunities I was able to be a part of from my freshman year till this present day has reconfirmed my passion and contributed to my specific area of research and the population I want to
I first learned how to translate my curiosity into hard work as a chemistry student at Cornell, and since then I have found great inspiration in new learning environments. As a medical student, transitioning from lectures to my clinical years, I extended the curiosity) developed in the classroom to patient care. During my rotations, I constantly questioned why certain steps were chosen to manage patients. I learned to refer to journals and to critically assess articles' levels of evidence, which facilitated decisions in patient care. Even as a medical student, I could make a difference by presenting articles to the team, and I dedicated myself to doing
“The immune system keeps track of all of the substances normally found in the body. Any new substance that the immune system doesn’t recognize raises an alarm, causing the immune system to attack it.” says the Cancer Society. often times the immune system attacks at foreign cells like cancerous cells but it doesn't always succeed. This is when immunotherapy comes in attacking cells that can potentially speed up the process of the tumor. Immunotherapy is designed to boost the immune system generally, while others help train the immune response to specifically target cancer cells.
Statement of Purpose I am apllying for PhD in Immunology at Harvard Medical in order to enrich further my academic knowledge, have access to the best equiped laboratories in the world and work within a highly professional and dedicated scientific community. Particularly, I want to work on identifying new targets for cancer treatment and prevention. All conventional cancer treatment available nowadays, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted drugs, anti-angiogenic agents and immune checkpoint blockers require specialized hospitals with expensive equipments, skilled people with a range of knowledge varying from nuclear physics to cell biology. Combination of all these make it impossible for people from small rural villages, like where I grow up, get at least a chance to cure their cancers. My ultimate goal is to develop a simple cancer treatment method which can be delivered by an average educated physician with a needle in his hand.
My research interests include curing cancer, emotional toll of hospitals on children, and improving methods of administering anesthesia. Curing cancer seems to be a lot of people’s goal, but cancer hits at home for me. The reason I want to find ways to cure cancer or help the body naturally fight against cancer is because my mother underwent chemo when she had breast cancer. My best friend’s mom also had cancer. Whereas my mother’s cancer never came back, my friend’s mom did.
I have always been intrigued by the field of science and that is the reason I pursued the field of Biochemistry for my undergraduate studies. How The Human body works and the different determinants that can affect one's health or a community as a whole have always been captivating to me. I wanted to emerge in a profession that is beneficial for me, my community, and the world I live in. I came to realize through various science courses and health care experiences that a career in health care was the best path for me to outreach my community and the world.
My future plans are to become a biomedical scientist. Biomedical scientists serve in all levels of health science research from basic science working with cell cultures to human clinical trials experimenting the most cutting-edge breakthroughs to maximize human quality of life. I am interesting in researching rare diseases. There are many rare diseases that affect small proportions of the population and unfortunately go unnoticed for reason. Unfortunately, usually it is because therapeutic agents for these diseases would have a much smaller market than therapeutics for common diseases. There is an immense need for research attention to ultimately improve clinical outcomes in patients of rare diseases because many are a lifelong chronic prognosis and are genetic and non-modifiable by lifestyle factors and are lacking of often absent of current treatment options. The government helps by socializing the solution by having money set aside by public National Institute of Health (NIH) to research ‘orphan diseases’. An example of one such program from the NIH is Orphan Products Natural History Grants Program.