Personal Statement
Programe:Clinical Medicine

I am a girl with a special penchant for tranquility, who likes to read books, conduct meditations and reflect on myself and on the world around me in quietude. This has become my daily practice and a habit, which has further developed into a form of interest. For I believe that only by maintaining the tranquility of heart and the peace of mind can a person attain profound understanding of oneself and discriminating insight into the essence of the matter, into the secrets whose answers are known only to the esoteric few.

Guided by this, I chose clinical medicine as my area of specialization that may enable me to probe into the root cause of disease development in the micro-world invisible to the general public. Within this micro-world disguised by its apparent tranquility, tremendous changes happen every minute.

Directed by protein, DNA determines the overall property of an organism, a fact which constantly arouses my sense of wonder, even awe, at the potency of creation by the Creator. My curiosity bred my unusual excitement for this micro-world, prompting me to experience and discover its fantastic subtleties and exquisiteness indefatigably. Apart from developing a solid command of the fundamental courses of my specialty, I am most fascinated by my lab courses because the entire experiment process ranging from design, operation, problem-solving to arriving at conclusion is a fascinating process of proceeding from tentative curiosity to in-depth analysis and ultimately to rationalized generalization. For example, when conducting the classic nervus phrenicus electrical-discharge experiment, I managed to verify and understand personally its rhythmicity and the law of its respiratory movement. The success with which I discovered the underlying essence behind the obvious phenomena imparted to me a sense of achievement of having conquered an entire world, a world totally different from the macro society but more splendid and wonderful. Experiments not only developed my rigorous academic attitude and the ability to conduct independent research and problem-solving but also maximized my efforts to exercise my creative potential. More often than not, while following the general principles of an experiment, I liked to introduce innovative modifications into specific operating procedures and improve experiment conditions in order to achieve optimum effects possible.

On account of my distinguished performance in both the theoretical and the experimental coursework, I was given the opportunity to work and receive training in lab in the second semester of the first year. From the human anatomy lab, the study group of molecular biology, pathological anatomy lab, to the HeNan Provincial Key Tumor Pathology Laboratory; from the simplest work of cleansing the sterilizing instruments, making specimens of human body, applying the basic molecular biological techniques, to the independent designing and performance of experiment projects; I delved deeper and deeper into the academic field that I love. In Sept. this year, I crystallized my major research findings in the form of an academic paper entitled Quantitative and Qualitative Detections of Telomerase Activity in Dysplasia Tissues of the Esophagus, which has been published in the Journal of HeNan Provincial Medical University, a kernel periodical for comprehensive medicine and hygiene in China. It is at once a fruition of my past research and a milestone in my career that would significantly strengthen my confidence to scale new heights.

As research assistant, I am currently engaged in the experiment and research of paclitaxel, docetaxel and rabdosia induced-apoptosis in human esophageal carcinoma cells in Henan Provincial Key Tumor Pathology Laboratory. The Linxuan County of HeNan Province is reputed in the world for its high incidence of esophageal cancer, therefore our research project is especially significant. Although the research on the drug-induced apoptosis in human cells has broad applications in clinical practice, the relevant research findings are rather limited in number both domestically and internationally, the technical literature on research of paclitaxel and docetaxel induced-apoptosis in human esophageal carcinoma cells is even more scanty. In particular, the practice of extracting rabdosia from traditional Chinese herbal medicine represents a bold and meaningful attempt in this area. For me, this is the first experiment project independently designed and undertaken by myself, therefore I highly prize this opportunity which may substantially enrich my knowledge and expand my experience. I will take meticulous efforts to ensure the perfect execution of every procedure in this experiment. By now, I have made breakthrough in this research and one academic paper based on its research findings and two related summaries will be published by the end of this year.

As one of the live issues in modern biomedical world, the research on the mechanism of cell apoptosis is still in the stage discovery. Many difficult problems related to the transduction passage of MARK signal of cell apoptosis await elucidation and the application of ssDNA single-resistance testing of cell apoptosis needs to be further developed. The research on cell apoptosis has provided a new orientation for the prevention and treatment of the cancerous tumor. However, the raising of the concept procedural cell apoptosis, the detection of morphological characteristics of the apoptosis, and the gradual discovery of gene related to apoptosis, all of these scientific advances are accomplished by western countries. China‘s development in this field is relatively recent; its existing research lag quite behind that of the developed countries. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that pursuing further studies in the United States is a must for me, where I can acquire the most advanced expertise in molecular biology and make my own contribution to the ultimate eradication of cancer, the greatest human killer in history.

Toward this objective I have prepared my necessary qualifications. A retrospection of my undergraduate scholastic performance reveals that I have been awarded scholarships for 4 consecutive years and has been the Student of Excellence of my university. I have participated in the grass-root survey for the Project of Procreant Health and Planned Parenthood sponsored by China-UN Population Fund. My GPA is 3.4, ranking third best in my class and top 7th among the 440 students in my department. The biological molecular skills I have mastered include DNA extraction, the isolation of eucaryocyte cytoplasmic RNA, Southern imprinting hybridization, etc. My GRE and TOEFL scores are 2300 and 600 respectively.

As a matter of fact, it is not totally appropriate to characterize me solely as quiet or introspective. More often, I would like to conceive myself as a sea, temporarily calm but eternally surging. For inherent in my blood is the convergence of simplicity and passion, the fusion of sobriety of mind with the vehemence of dedication. Remembering Samuel Johnson‘s remark that "Few things are impossible to diligence and skill", I am fully prepared to embark on an incessant quest for the final materialization of my ideals in a process of constant self-transcendence, to succeed where others have failed and to keep soaring from every single achievement that I score.