ＰＳ国外申请范文（二十）
subject: Duke Biotechnology
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7 g- a& _: v2 h( k0 B; r6 ] B& q3 UExcited by the idea of becoming a scientist since I was a small child, my in 1 z4 f- g% Q! y {6 b, _: U. a
terests in pursuing graduate studies intensified during my undergraduate edu 9 C" Z, M- T* A6 {
cation and my research experience. Rather than discouraging me with the trem
/ c. G( t G1 N! nendous amount of work and demands for creativity, my college years motivated
1 H! ?9 r) {" J4 B* h4 d7 s) q, jme to earn a Ph.D. and to continue pursuing a career as a research scientis 1 H) u9 }6 \- h9 W
t. Although my exact research goals have yet to be refined, my interests inc " U) Z! `: [- j- M0 z7 k6 C
lude studying the genetic basis of disease and the genetic mechanisms that g : Z% ?8 }+ P% b8 k2 }3 O' |7 k1 T
overn various cellular processes, such as the cell cycle, apoptosis, and tum b, j5 U; p# M$ I9 A" _. U8 K% r
or formation.Although I entered college without a clear research direction, + o, T& [6 Y5 P! k: q' Q9 W' I+ S
the Biotechnology Program at Rochester Institute of Technology helped develo
. L/ z U7 E% }p my interest in the field of Genetics. I found much of my laboratory traini 9 B ^6 [- `/ _% `
ng at RIT to be extremely rewarding. For example, one experience that early - I W( t; ^" I4 v8 O
on convinced me to seriously consider genetics was a project involving the c / \# {3 i9 R% x; m6 `
onstruction and characterization of a recombinant plasmid. Since I worked in B W% j$ ]8 ]$ ?5 q# X4 P4 e
dependently for the most part, the project played a key role in increasing m 9 d6 m5 J# X& V0 u2 v. K/ s6 t g! y
y confidence and helping me to understand various concepts pertaining to gen # B4 T B9 A) G; W& }
etic analysis. It was this experience that motivated me to seek a position a ! u5 J: e+ R0 J: F& `0 j* {7 `4 |
s a teacher抯 assistant for a course in Microbial and Viral Genetics. As a T d2 v+ X0 z/ k. l2 B* u; R
A, I learned how demanding the teaching situation is and how much teaching a
3 H' I4 s1 q( ]& V* s% Qcourse can contribute to my own learning.By this time, after discovering my
1 x' M) Y+ d9 C; V+ S& @passion for research and the joy of teaching, I began to seriously contempl 2 D% h' F/ G5 G) ^& K; S: ^
ate graduate schools. To excel in graduate school, I decided I would not lim . u) O# G' d! Y: r* P0 p# Q* a, J
it my experience to my formal education at RIT. Instead, I wanted the opport % g/ S# p% B4 I1 [$ Y
unity to explore my career options to make a well-informed decision as to th $ G3 f5 L/ R `4 q0 r: Z
e area of my future research. With these goals in mind, I chose to take adva 5 G# K' V. r ~4 Z+ I0 g
ntage of RIT抯 Cooperative Education Program, which meant earning my Bachelo 2 _& W2 e& O& H1 p+ g9 ?: L) l
r抯 degree in five years instead of four. In December of 1997,Astra Arcus US 7 ~8 S$ g& @3 F6 t {- m" l( e0 \
A Pharmaceuticals hired me as a research assistant in the Electrophysiology 0 M6 f* a E0 {! ]7 j$ a0 }1 M7 o o" c
department.At Astra, I learned research techniques not taught by RIT. For th
$ P, d! T! a7 p8 Re past year, I have been working with a subset of neuronal glutamate recepto
; U, y# O6 E( A% Q% ?1 I& srs via voltage clamping on Xenopus oocytes. The research of our lab is geare 8 u3 [; w# b$ u
d toward the study of central nervous system diseases. Working with Astra an 5 q! @1 O d& a6 k# T) T$ Y
d earning an education in biotechnology from RIT sparked my interest in lear
6 T- l+ I1 [1 ening more about the genetic basis of disease.On a personal level, I抳e gaine
2 T S7 I1 H& N# Ld quite a bit from my cooperative experience. Confident in my ability to ada
( j3 X6 q7 ]5 o. x( Z6 Vpt to new environments and learn techniques that I have never encountered, I . u) P" {; d& @4 H" S; M
have also learned a great deal about the nature of private-sector research
2 ^4 T# Y, g1 s# \ t; o Cand the lifestyle of the researchers. Familiar with the amount of dedication # y! Z% _$ `& Z* r( v
and hard work essential to project advancement, I am more focused on my goa ! m) G7 U- V& _8 Y0 v
l of becoming an excellent researcher than I ever have been. No stranger to " C( F7 i0 G+ L! |' o5 N2 R
the frustration and disappointment inherent in research work, I am spurred o
) O) g* @9 J# A. ?3 ?n by the thrill of discovery. I find a great deal of enjoyment working in re 5 W, @# A3 P4 M: V G3 c
search and plan to stay at Astra through the summer of 2005.I feel that my c 3 g) g: {9 M! A; u: b' x' G% ~% _+ G
ourse work as a Biotechnology major at RIT and my research experience at Ast
6 H$ F- g( o. h4 ^" K2 ?ra have adequately prepared me for graduate study. Eager to continue my educ
/ f" V& [2 ^% {, Z& Z- o: \ation and improve upon my weaknesses, I am particularly interested in becomi / z% ~' z1 U3 F0 T5 ?: U7 r" ]/ c
ng more familiar with emerging technologies relating to genetics and in gain 4 h, e6 \9 M$ t+ n5 q
ing more exposure in working with eukaryotic genomes. Most importantly, I wa
* _, z C4 G, Lnt to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to design and perform research 6 B& a6 s2 Y/ W2 V' t9 X2 C4 O
according to my interests in genetics and disease. With these broad interes 0 \/ G+ d5 \: y+ V! N
ts and specific goals, I am very attracted to the Graduate Program in Geneti : J* s$ R5 l: c
cs at Duke University. With great flexibility in choosing a degree, the prog # s: D' i* o/ ^8 J, r
ram would suit me well. At Duke, I would welcome the opportunity to explore
% b- f' P. U8 E7 q. a7 Y jmy interests in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, Pharmacology, and Cancer Biology
; V, q0 T2 g6 H* T# R2 \1 ?. I am also interested in learning more about possible involvement with the / s: N0 G0 O. H& n+ E k8 p* S
Duke Center for Human Genetics. My motivation to succeed is reflected in bot - [' I8 ~1 _* {) T
h my academic standing and my dedication to research. I feel that these attr
2 e8 Q. }/ b6 R4 H8 k1 K& h. xibutes, combined with a profound interest in the Biological Sciences, will e : r- s/ g; D" @; N
nsure me success as a graduate student at Duke University.
