Letters / An aspiring scientist - cover letter Pharmaceutical Internship [2]

Question:

Expand on your CV by describing how the NIBR Summer Internship will further your career goals.

Describe the skills, experience and personal qualities that make you an ideal candidate for this internship. Demonstrate that you have read and meet the eligibility requirements for this internship.

Response:
I am interested in applying and being a part of the Novartis Institutes Biomedical Research because of its international appeal, to reach millions of people and make their lives better. Your work, specifically ARTs drug. has made my life better.

As an aspiring scientist at Connecticut College, I have grown as a researcher by undertaking an independent research study in Prof Marc Zimmer's computational chemistry research lab. Here I analyzed the structural and photophysical properties of Green Fluorescent Proteins (GFPs). A protein used as a biomarker in medicine, cell biology, and molecular biology. I worked on the research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics RCSB protein databank to systematically analyze GFP - like structures in the Protein Databank. This work helped me refine my independent work ethic, especially in gaining an insight into research in addition to my course work. I hope to use the skills I gained to work in the drug discovery of infectious diseases using the new path of chemical biology to explore biological systems in order to create innovative therapeutics

It is my computational chemistry research that I learned about Maestro, a tool used to quantify a molecule's feature. Wanting to learn more about Maestro, I enrolled in the Schrodinger online course as the first-ever scholarship recipient of their online course to help in my research. Online resources have been more useful now than ever, considering the pandemic. It is through an online class I took over the summer called medicinal chemistry with Prof Erland Stevens that my interest in drug development and its protein interaction developed. I was inspired by listening to some of Novartis' scientists such as Parisa Zamiri whose life experiences guide them in their research.

Although I am a sophomore, I have taken relevant courses such as Organic chemistry, Advanced Chemistry, Introduction to Biology, and Advanced Regression( R Studio). In particular, organic chemistry has enabled me to appreciate molecular structures and their reactivity, while my biology classes are helping me understand the body's structure at a molecular level. At Novartis, I want to integrate this knowledge into understanding the drug discovery process, particularly that of infectious diseases that are endemic in Africa and third world countries.

In my spare time, along with taking classes and juggling multiple jobs, I tutor in the chemistry department. helping students understand chemistry concepts. This has been the most rewarding of my undergraduate experience so far as I get to share my love and excitement for chemistry in an intellectual manner while also revisiting chemistry concepts and asking questions that feed my thirst to always know why and how.

During the summer of 2020, I worked at the New London Homeless Centre under the college's summer civic engagement scholarship. I developed a syllabus to help with peer-to-peer education outreach, as it was considered a very effective way to reach out to the homeless population. I was able to hone my presentation skills via weekly presentations on the Coronavirus. To support my work, I with the help of my supervisor applied for a $ 6000 grant that enabled my work. I did this while attending weekly summer workshops with one of my Professors to do intensive scientific literature reviews as most lab work was canceled

Not only have I worked on academic growth, but I have also invested in leadership roles on campus as well. Such as being a resident Assistant and Secretary of the Black Student's Association. This work has made me a more empathetic person who can relate to people with diverse and different backgrounds.

As an aspiring scientist, I have always wanted to integrate my interests outside of science into one big overarching theme of how my lab work translates into meaningful results that can help improve people's lives. This stems from my work involved helping communities such as the outreach program in Mngeta; or when the pandemic started, helping the homeless population combat the virus as they were one of the most vulnerable populations. I believe these experiences are essential in assisting scientists in understanding society's needs and directing their research to address those needs. It is now my aim to use my community engagement experience to help influence the research being done.

Letters / My motivation letter for a Novartis (Pharmaceutical company) Internship, Is question answered? [3]

Motivation, goals, hopes, or plans for the future

Question: This is your opportunity to share your story, to let us hear your voice, and get to know the person behind the numbers, lists, and scores. Tell us what motivates you; what experiences impacted you or changed your perspective, what your goals, hopes, or plans for the future are, what makes you unique.

Response:
Malaria, Bilharzia, typhoid were common household names when I was growing up. Either I, being a victim of their pathogens or seeing my father mention them while treating patients. Growing up in Africa, I was fortunate to have a father who was a doctor. He would instantly attend to my medical needs. This was not the same reality for many other kids on the continent with one of the world's highest disease burden. This reality was made even more apparent during our yearly family Christmas visits to my home village of Mngeta. Seeing the familiar faces of my relatives made Mngeta feel homey, yet, the differences in our upbringing made the place distant. For them, going to the hospital meant traveling 100km, getting medicines meant waiting for days for supplies to come. It was here for the first in my life the inequalities in the world had unveiled themselves. Helping my father and listening to some of the patients' stories and during our yearly visits to Mngeta made me understand the daily challenges faced by an average African man while trying to access healthcare.

At Mngeta, I had seen the devastating effects of diseases that go untreated because of a lack of access to quality health care. Specifically, a woman named Sophia with whom I had been the designated caregiver after transporting her from Mngeta to Dar es Salaam, had died of cancer because she was too poor to afford treatment. Consequently, I had also seen the effect of good access to drugs and healthcare on my village, such as free access to Novartis' ACTs drugs. This saved many lives including myself. It is for this reason that I would like to part of the drug discovery and development team for infectious diseases as they impact my community.

For me, I view science as a tool that can be used to alleviate the inequalities of the world, specifically those thatb affect Africa. For me, Africa is at heart because it suffers the world's highest disease burden.

I want to work in a lab cause I believe the countless hours in the lab have the most meaningful results on the people. After all, all the science in the lab trickles down to help people.

It is for the above-stated reasons that I have been selected as a CISLA scholar at my school. CISLA is an international initiative that allows students to use their skills and knowledge to solve global problems. I intend to study drug discovery for infectious diseases in South Africa in the summer of my junior year at the H3D Centre, one of Africa's leading research discovery centers. In the future, I hope to earn a Ph.D. in and engage in further research. Hopefully, through my work, I hope to change the narrative surrounding Africans contribution to science.