akanksha1302
May 11, 2015
Graduate / SOP for graduate program in Cancer Biology. Help me with improvements. [5]
The essay is not yet complete and its just the first draft...but comments are highly welcomed. Please help.
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Since childhood, I had an ardent interest in learning science as a subject. I loved to study biology because it relates our understanding to something which we can see, touch or feel. It directly connects us to the means to improvements in healthcare and disease biology. During my Masters education, I understood well that I want to focus upon cancer biology for my further research career. This led me choose XXXX (the largest cancer research institute in XXXX) for my Master's dissertation project. There, I was able to see the real agony of cancer patients who come for treatments and follow-ups at this hospital. Their pain and sufferings further ignited my passion of fighting for them and against the disease and made me more passionate to pursue research in the field of cancer.
My Masters dissertation work was on cervical cancer genomics under XXXX, which dealt with elucidating the important and novel somatic single nucleotide variations responsible for cervical carcinogenesis using Next Generation Sequencing technology in order to understand the overall genetic and molecular landscape of the disease. Simultaneously, we also focused on understanding the impact of the p53 polymorphism in Indian population on the survival and prognosis of cervical. Hence, we have continuously tried to connect our observations and ideas to patient scenarios, which is absolutely essential to solve the prevailing questions in cancer biology. The project, in collaboration with many clinicians and bioinformaticians, also developed my research aptitude to a broader aspect and developed team-spirit in me.
My current project, on applied biology at the XXXXXX Laboratory at XXXX under XXXX is focused more towards the application of recently evolved area of bioluminescence imaging with an aim to develop a nanocarrier-based siRNA delivery system to be used as therapy in cancer. This project gave me a deeper understanding of the disease and also made me thorough in various molecular biology, cell biology and molecular imaging techniques. Hence I feel that making use of the recent technologies and evolving areas in the field of biology provide improved means to solve scientific queries.
My varied research experiences in different fields like cancer genomics, molecular and cellular biology, bioluminescence imaging in cancer, nano-therapeutics etc. has prepared me well to apply for graduate studies at your university. I am interested particularly in the molecular signaling networks behind metastasis and chemoresistance of cancer cells, wherein several genetic aberrations and modulations in signaling networks incorporating oncogenes and tumor suppressor proteins are involved. I am enthusiastic to do translational research, where I can incorporate my experiences of screening important genetic targets using the -omics approach, along with their further validations in vitro and in vivo in various model systems using various molecular biology, cell biology and imaging techniques. Also, taking into account the highly heterogenous nature of cancer, I am equally interested in working under collaborations with clinicians to translate the findings in patient scenarios. Your department, with a beautiful trend of amalgamation of researchers and clinicians will provide me an accurate foundation for my career.
The essay is not yet complete and its just the first draft...but comments are highly welcomed. Please help.
...
Since childhood, I had an ardent interest in learning science as a subject. I loved to study biology because it relates our understanding to something which we can see, touch or feel. It directly connects us to the means to improvements in healthcare and disease biology. During my Masters education, I understood well that I want to focus upon cancer biology for my further research career. This led me choose XXXX (the largest cancer research institute in XXXX) for my Master's dissertation project. There, I was able to see the real agony of cancer patients who come for treatments and follow-ups at this hospital. Their pain and sufferings further ignited my passion of fighting for them and against the disease and made me more passionate to pursue research in the field of cancer.
My Masters dissertation work was on cervical cancer genomics under XXXX, which dealt with elucidating the important and novel somatic single nucleotide variations responsible for cervical carcinogenesis using Next Generation Sequencing technology in order to understand the overall genetic and molecular landscape of the disease. Simultaneously, we also focused on understanding the impact of the p53 polymorphism in Indian population on the survival and prognosis of cervical. Hence, we have continuously tried to connect our observations and ideas to patient scenarios, which is absolutely essential to solve the prevailing questions in cancer biology. The project, in collaboration with many clinicians and bioinformaticians, also developed my research aptitude to a broader aspect and developed team-spirit in me.
My current project, on applied biology at the XXXXXX Laboratory at XXXX under XXXX is focused more towards the application of recently evolved area of bioluminescence imaging with an aim to develop a nanocarrier-based siRNA delivery system to be used as therapy in cancer. This project gave me a deeper understanding of the disease and also made me thorough in various molecular biology, cell biology and molecular imaging techniques. Hence I feel that making use of the recent technologies and evolving areas in the field of biology provide improved means to solve scientific queries.
My varied research experiences in different fields like cancer genomics, molecular and cellular biology, bioluminescence imaging in cancer, nano-therapeutics etc. has prepared me well to apply for graduate studies at your university. I am interested particularly in the molecular signaling networks behind metastasis and chemoresistance of cancer cells, wherein several genetic aberrations and modulations in signaling networks incorporating oncogenes and tumor suppressor proteins are involved. I am enthusiastic to do translational research, where I can incorporate my experiences of screening important genetic targets using the -omics approach, along with their further validations in vitro and in vivo in various model systems using various molecular biology, cell biology and imaging techniques. Also, taking into account the highly heterogenous nature of cancer, I am equally interested in working under collaborations with clinicians to translate the findings in patient scenarios. Your department, with a beautiful trend of amalgamation of researchers and clinicians will provide me an accurate foundation for my career.