Life is about making decisions. For me it was either Engineering or Medicine. So I made my decision and chose both medicine and engineering. I wanted to be able to help people and make a difference in their lives by designing innovative solutions to medical problems. I chose BME, because it had the potential to bridge the gap between healthcare and technology. Pacemakers, artificial hearts, insulin pumps- these designs have saved millions of lives across the world and I decided to be a part of this legacy and make a contribution to humanity myself.
I knew, in order to accomplish my goals I needed to prepare myself by having an understanding of the discipline I had chosen. Thus the summer following my senior year in high school, I interned at a nanochemistry research laboratory at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, researching methods on the synthesis of gold and silver nanoclusters and their applications in the medicine. Soon after I volunteered in the pathology lab at the BGS Global Hospital in Bangalore, where I instructed myself in the various lab protocols and medical equipment. These experience introduced me to research and for the first time I truly understood the impact of biomedical engineering on a macroscopic scale.
However my quest for knowledge did not stop there. Unlike high school, college allowed me to broaden of my mind and fully explore my potential. The difference in the education system brought about a change in my learning and allowed me to be more proactive about my life on campus. By participating in student organizations, the most promising being the Biomedical Engineering Society I built a strong network with my peers and professors, which resulted in me volunteering in the BME neural prosthetics lab. In the lab, I worked on basic circuit designs and MatLab code which were eventually operationalized into commands for a neuroprosthetic to assist stroke patients. This experience, helped me develop a deeper understanding of my major and its benefits to humanity.
In addition to volunteering at the BME lab, I attended 'senior seminars', a class for seniors where BME faculty from other universities presented their research. These seminars kept me abreast with current trends in my field, it inspired me to participate in more qualitative research projects. As a result of my efforts, the summer following my freshman year I was chosen to be a part of an NSF REU related to diabetes at IIT. I worked at the University of Chicago and unlike my prior lab experiences, I was given a research project that required me to a combine a fluorescent protein with an insulin gene. Reading journal articles, managing my team and the constant leg work, put me through my paces and in the process helped me appreciate the time and effort researchers invest in their work to produce effective results. I would never have know that doctors rely extensively on medical research had it not been for this internship.
The experiences I have had- be it research, interacting with academic faculty or participating in student organizations-have given me a unique insight of myself and my character. More importantly they have helped me prepare rigorously for a career in medicine. However, preparation is a process, it does not happen in an instant. I must continue preparing for my future, and the next step in this process is to be accepted into UVA. It's acclaimed biomedical engineering program is led by some of the country's best researchers and the medical school on campus would allow me to shadow doctors and volunteer and prepare me for a career of an M.D. Having extensively researched UVA's excellent academic faculty and their student population consisting of the country's brightest students, I believe it can provide the conducive learning environment and opportunities I require to ace my MCATs and become a medical professional with an expertise in BME, allowing me to provide more effective healthcare. As Thomas Edison once said "good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation".
I knew, in order to accomplish my goals I needed to prepare myself by having an understanding of the discipline I had chosen. Thus the summer following my senior year in high school, I interned at a nanochemistry research laboratory at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, researching methods on the synthesis of gold and silver nanoclusters and their applications in the medicine. Soon after I volunteered in the pathology lab at the BGS Global Hospital in Bangalore, where I instructed myself in the various lab protocols and medical equipment. These experience introduced me to research and for the first time I truly understood the impact of biomedical engineering on a macroscopic scale.
However my quest for knowledge did not stop there. Unlike high school, college allowed me to broaden of my mind and fully explore my potential. The difference in the education system brought about a change in my learning and allowed me to be more proactive about my life on campus. By participating in student organizations, the most promising being the Biomedical Engineering Society I built a strong network with my peers and professors, which resulted in me volunteering in the BME neural prosthetics lab. In the lab, I worked on basic circuit designs and MatLab code which were eventually operationalized into commands for a neuroprosthetic to assist stroke patients. This experience, helped me develop a deeper understanding of my major and its benefits to humanity.
In addition to volunteering at the BME lab, I attended 'senior seminars', a class for seniors where BME faculty from other universities presented their research. These seminars kept me abreast with current trends in my field, it inspired me to participate in more qualitative research projects. As a result of my efforts, the summer following my freshman year I was chosen to be a part of an NSF REU related to diabetes at IIT. I worked at the University of Chicago and unlike my prior lab experiences, I was given a research project that required me to a combine a fluorescent protein with an insulin gene. Reading journal articles, managing my team and the constant leg work, put me through my paces and in the process helped me appreciate the time and effort researchers invest in their work to produce effective results. I would never have know that doctors rely extensively on medical research had it not been for this internship.
The experiences I have had- be it research, interacting with academic faculty or participating in student organizations-have given me a unique insight of myself and my character. More importantly they have helped me prepare rigorously for a career in medicine. However, preparation is a process, it does not happen in an instant. I must continue preparing for my future, and the next step in this process is to be accepted into UVA. It's acclaimed biomedical engineering program is led by some of the country's best researchers and the medical school on campus would allow me to shadow doctors and volunteer and prepare me for a career of an M.D. Having extensively researched UVA's excellent academic faculty and their student population consisting of the country's brightest students, I believe it can provide the conducive learning environment and opportunities I require to ace my MCATs and become a medical professional with an expertise in BME, allowing me to provide more effective healthcare. As Thomas Edison once said "good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation".