Hi,
I need your views and assistance on editing this statement of purpose.. it is for a Phd program in Public health.
There it was...the telltale sign on her hand. She did not scream when I poked her on the area. I led her to the coordinator immediately to show her the girl's patch. The health officer referred to it as the "macular anesthetic" patch, considered to be one of the signs of Lepromatous Leprosy. The girl's parents, who were daily wageworkers, did not respond to the health worker's plea of providing medical attention to their daughter. According to them, a small innocuous looking blemish could not really be a sign of a disease as debilitating as Leprosy. She stopped school and started praying to the heavens for redemption from the curse. The superstitious dread that certain diseases are held in and the social stigma associated with them are staggering in certain strata of society in my country. The incident started me thinking about how important it is to elicit societal attention and awareness on public health issues.
As a volunteer at a Leprosy screening camp, I was shown a video showing horrifying pictures of disfigured people at various stages of the disease. With my almost nonexistent knowledge of ...
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"There it was...the telltale sign on her hand. [...] The incident started me thinking about how important it is to elicit societal attention and awareness on public health issues. Nice opening.
As a volunteer at a Leprosy screening camp, I was shown a video showing horrifying pictures of disfigured people at various stages of the disease. With my almost nonexistent knowledge of microbiology at that point, I was both amazed and alarmed at the devastation that something so diminutive can cause. I could only fathom bacteria to be a minute demon with minuscule fangs and claws looking for victims, but why was it lured to only certain people and left the rest unharmed?
Health education was one of the subjects I took up in the 9th grade. The terms epidemic,pandemic, and endemic ceased being jargon to me. I was ushered in to the world of "the minuscule". I became aware of the etiologic agents of various diseases, their prevention, and the role of primary health care in communities. I learned about the efforts of the World Health Organization in the eradication of small pox and p oliomyelitis. The global nature of these projects, which encompassed every human on earth, and the quantity of research, enterprise and endeavor incorporated into the mission, had me spellbound. However, I also found out that only 14% of children between 12 and 23 months of age receive the vaccination for polio and [ox .
As depressing as that may sound, I started wondering if it would help to have a simplistic approach to any health care problem. Identifying risks and acting to control them, identifying effective and affordable prevention and treatment strategies, providing basic infrastructural amenities to everybody and developing a stronger and more responsive system seems attainable, I thought. It did not however take my sophomoric mind long to realize that my thoughts were one-dimensional, because for research to have a direct and practical impact, it should reach the grass root levels. By the end of my senior year at school, I knew I was passionate about health sciences and so enrolling in a bachelors degree in microbiology seemed the next rational step.
Medical microbiology and immunology classes fascinated me the most. I was overwhelmed at the terror the little bugs could unleash when they are at their virulent best. To me, it seemed like a plot straight out of a science fiction thriller. Just when we think we have outdone the enemy, new infectious diseases begin to appear, caused by unknown microbes or by known microbes producing novel manifestations. However, with the development of a wide variety of antibiotics and the introduction of effective vaccines against most viral diseases, the eventual elimination of all infectious diseases seemed achievable. The need for specialist knowledge of the pathogenecity, patterns, and the predilections of the disease causing entity to continuously monitor outbreaks became increasingly clear to me. My appetence for this expertise led me to enroll in amasters d egree course in m icrobiology.
The next two years helped me refine my research goals, accumulate varied experience, and meet a number of resourceful people. It also helped reaffirm my love for medical microbiology. As a part of the M.Sc. course work, I undertook an independent project entitled "c omparative studies on the characterization and typing of coagulase positive Staphylococci and coagulase negative staphylococci with special reference to Methicillin resistance." The goal of this study was to give an insight into the incidence of Staphylococci in the hospital environment and the community. A comparison of various conventional typing methods was carried out to throw some light on the epidemiology. Based on strain relatedness, I identified a common source for carriers and patients in the hospital and suggested measures for the control of Staphylococcal infection. Although the data may not have been ground breaking, I was thrilled to have an opportunity to contribute something unique.
My supervisor, Dr. Padma Krishnan, guided me not only on the technical aspects of my work but also helped me attain a more mature outlook on life. I had always been afraid of failure and on one occasion, I approached her about the difficulty I was having in preparing for a rather tough exam. She simply stated the "The Law of Feedback": there is no failure; there is only feedback. Her pep talk helped me realize that successful people look at mistakes as outcomes or results and not as failures whereas unsuccessful people tend to dwell on them. I fared much better than I thought I would in the exam. Overcoming my nemesis - the fear of failure - is probably one of the soaring points of my life.
She encouraged me to participate and present papers in numerous conferences. It helped me hone my communication and persuasive skills considerably. Working on the presentations not only kept me updated on the current developments in the field but also helped me develop radical perspectives on the subject. The rush I got from defending my work was addictive and ultimately, I managed to bid farewell to the shy, reticent, and self-effacing me.
The opportunity to interact with Dr.Vishwanathan of the cardiology department of the hospital where my study group came from was invaluable to me. He amazed me with his sincere gestures to help the needy receive adequate, cost effective treatment. Since most of his patients were from an economically weaker section of the society, he always spent a lot of time educating them on healthy living. He often stressed the importance of creating public awareness on cheaper, alternative prophylactic measures. I shared with him the belief that it was necessary to arouse health care from its state of suspended consciousness in our society. We had interesting discussions on how some pathogens, which cause havoc in developing countries, are just academic interests in developed countries. To state as a case in point, he explained how Tuberculosis is one of the fatal diseases in the south of India while its incidence has come down in affluent countries. Similarly, Typhoid and Cholera outbreaks continue to be endemic in the poor nations of the world. I found myself getting more interested in and concerned about the diseases affecting the tropical countries and their prevention.
If during my Master's degree I discovered a new personality, it was during my stint at Gangagen - a company involved in the development of bacteriophage products for therapy - that I developed individualism. As a research assistant in the protein purification and assay development unit, I started independently designing, developing and standardizing different assays for detection of phage lysozyme activity. The weekly journal clubs held there benefited me tremendously in developing analytical and critical reasoning. Once, when my repeated efforts to develop a zymogram technique for demonstration of lytic activity developed a stalemate, I was frustrated and at the verge of giving up. I deviated a little from the protocol by making a few changes in the staining process. It worked! I learned not to view failures as fences. Applying a little creativity can turn them around into accomplishments. In research, the results of our work can appear so enticingly close and sometimes unattainable. We usually begin with a goal of understanding one thing only to face other interesting questions along the way. At Ganagen, I learned to bring the constant oscillation the mind faces under such situations on which direction to heed, to rest. I learned to prioritize."
This is a good lead into the next paragraph. In the following statements, you should talk about what it is that you want to do with your PhD, exactly. What are your goals for the future? What do you want to accomplish while at the university? Where do you see your particular field in 10 years? Where are you in it?
You have a very organized and coherent essay with a clear line of consistency. It flows well and is not too difficult to follow. Keep up the good work!
Regards,
Gloria
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