Personal Statement  
Program Applied: M. D. in Clinical Medicine/Gastroenterology

To strive to be among the top 100 in my field has always been my aspiration. For the materialization of this aspiration, I have dedicated all my enthusiasm and energy to my academic endeavors—both my studies and research—over the past few years. However, to my dismay, the unsatisfactory research conditions in China have caused the research and the therapeutic level in the field of my specialization, namely clinical medicine /Gastroenterology, to lag behind those of the developed countries in the West by at least 10 years. Many of the original ideas that I have developed on certain issues in my field cannot be fully put into practice on account of the limitations in personnel, experimental facilities and research funds. Consequently, I strongly wish that I can be admitted into your esteemed university to undertake an advanced degree program in clinical medicine & gastroenterology.

I have cherished a deep and long yearning for a chance to study at your university. As early as the years when I was an undergraduate at the Department of Medicine of XX (Provincial) Medical University, I had a chance to read the book The Reach of Helicobacter Pylori edited by some professors of your university which influenced me to take up the study of digestive diseases as my area of specialization. Later, during my Master’s program, I focused on the development of the chronic stomach disease (gastrosia) and the incidence of the gastric cancer. The comprehensive research and practice that I have performed in this area further reinforce my determination to seek advanced studies at your university when there should be an opportunity. This is because your esteemed university enjoys a very high academic reputation for the research work you have carried out in the field of digestive disease study. This ensures that if I can be admitted into your program I will be part of your well-respected program and I will be able to undertake in-depth study and develop a close understanding of the most updated theories and technical developments in this field. By working together and exchanging experiences with the world’s leading experts in this field, I will be exposed to wholly novel ideas of research and significantly broaden my academic vision.

At the same time, as China is a country with a high incidence of hepatopathy (liver disease), I believe that I can make important contributions to the relevant research projects of your university with my rich clinical experience in this field. Of course, I am fully aware that, to be able to enroll in your prestigious and time-honored university, I will be inevitably confronted with fierce competitions from other elitist students the world over. But I have full confidence in myself as a worthy candidate for your program based on my past education, research and clinical experience, as well as my aspiration to develop myself into a leading expert in China in my chosen area.

At the Department of Medicine and the Graduate School of XX Medical University, I respectively completed my Bachelor’s program and my Master’s program in internal medicine. Through my academic endeavors, I have not only laid a firm yet comprehensive groundwork in medical theories, becoming well-read in classic medical literature, but also developed a sound ability in rigorous yet flexible logical thinking and a sense of scientific commitment. I am relatively strong at probing, from a micro perspective, into the etiopathologic and developmental mechanisms, at theoretically deducing the process of the genesis of a pathological state, and at demonstrating it through well-designed experiments. During heated classroom discussions, I could always convince my classmates with my eloquent presentation, rigorous logical analysis and detailed experimental statistics. In addition to that, I have also won general recognition from the teachers and professors who taught me.

My research capacity, creative thinking and experimental skills experienced further improvement as I joined a research group at the XX Research Institute of Digestive Diseases to undertake a research project for my Master’s program. Under the leadership of Prof. XXX, the most celebrated specialist on digestion, I participated in the project The Development of Chronic Stomach Disease (Gastrosia) & the Mechanism of Cancerization sponsored by XX Provincial Bureau of Public Health. In this project, I focused my research on the mechanism of action and the cellular immunity of the catalyst subunit telomerase in cancerization and investigated, through a microscopic approach, the clinical significance that those two factors may produce on the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the gastric cancer. My thesis, entitled The Expression of hTERT mRNA and Cellular Immunity in Gastric Cancer and Precancerosis won high evaluations from Prof. XX and Prof. XXX and other specialists from XX Union Hospital and the No. 1 Clinical Medical Institute of XX University. They rated my thesis as “demonstrating originality in conception and effective methodology, enriching relevant theories and having marked clinical significance.”

I have accumulated much practical clinical experience since I started working at The No. 2 Hospital of XX Medical University which is classified as the “Grade-A Class-III” hospital (the highest ranking for a hospital in China). Based on my research during the Master’s program, I expanded my research area to include the study on gastric cancer. I have published a total of six papers (please refer to my Resume for more detailed information), including the latest The Expression and the Clinical Implication of the Catalyst Subunit Telomerase in Gastric Cancer and Precancerosis, in the World Journal of Gastroenterology and other leading journals in China and collected into Science Citation Index-Expanded Index Medicus /MEDLINE and Chemical Abstracts. Some of those papers were designated to be presented at annual conference on digestion in XX and XX Province.

While undertaking research, I have received formal and comprehensive training as resident physician of internal medicine and obtained national doctor license. Through the training program I have grasped the pathogenetic mechanisms of gastrointestinal and liver diseases, cardiovascular diseases, endocrinopathy, pulimonary and connectiv tissue diseases and their corresponding diagnosis and treatment. In less than two years after working at the hospital, I passed the national-level qualifying examination to have achieved the qualifications as the physician-in-charge in digestive internal medicine.

Helicobacter Pylori has been regarded as the key factor in the incidence of gastric diseases and the contributing factor in cancerization. The research in this field has reached the molecular level. I have a good foundation of academic research in this aspect. China has a high incidence of liver diseases and a large proportion of patients I deal with in my daily work are those of hepatitis, allowing me to acquire abundance clinical experience and deep understanding concerning the genesis of the hepatitis and the disease-causing mechanism of the viruses. Those two fields will be the area of focus in my prospective program at your university. Ideally, I hope to achieve some breakthrough theoretically and technically.

For too many times, I have witnessed the enfeeblement of the otherwise robust life of patients due to their physiological conditions. The horror of seeing the gradual dwindling of a strong-willed life is simply beyond description. But I have largely transmuted this horror into a motivation behind all my academic endeavors and professional practices. For me, success has only one meaning, that is, to unravel the mysteries of the diseases pestering human beings and to contribute to the well-being of my patients.