Biology Personal Statement

I have always had an interest in the human body and animal anatomy. I've studied it on my own with coloring books, online programs and thru home dissection kits. It is fascinating to learn the numerous ways our bodies function. I completed an anatomy and physiology course through our home school coop. I learned a lot of important information that will help me advance in my education and career.

My academic career is based on the sciences, especially chemistry and biology. Throughout my childhood, I have been greatly exposed to the sciences. My mother was a nurse practitioner in a rural clinic, which was connected to our house. Consequently, the clinic became my playground and the stethoscopes became my toys. Therefore, I was always interested in how the body worked and what affected our health.

​Ever since I was a child, I have loved science. I learned at a young age to always keep asking questions and to never settle with just simply not knowing something. The thought of how everything works on a molecular level never ceases to fascinate me. I have other interests spanning multiple fields, but none can compare to my love of science. I quite enjoy being in the labs and getting to do experiments to uncover answers that were otherwise unknown to me. It is that curiosity and interest that keeps my fascination towards the realm of science strong.

Lab Manual    Introductory Biology (Version 1.4)    © 2010 eScience Labs, LLC  All rights reserved  www.esciencelabs.com • 888.375.5487    2  Table of Contents:    Introduction:          Lab 1:   The Scientific Method  Lab 2:   Writing a Lab Report  Lab 3:  Data Measurement  Lab 4:  Introduction to the Microscope    Biological Processes:            Lab 5:   The Chemistry of Life 

Wonderment, curiosity, and prying for knowledge; these are feelings that every child experiences at one point or another. For my childhood self, it was biology that fueled those innate feelings of fascination. Biology has always been a topic of interest to me, from when I was a little kid to this day, biology consistently amazed and continues to amaze me. Ever since I was a just a kid, I knew I wanted to go into the field of science. I looked up to science greats like Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Charles Darwin, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Isaac Newton.

My aspirations as a biologist are driven by my fascination with Biology, and with how data can be used to understand and manipulate biological systems. At the frontiers of Bioinformatics and Genetics is where synthetic biology thrives as a powerful platform for many solutions to real-life problems. Most notably, it has vivified the way we conduct research on complex diseases. When multiple genetic and environmental factors come into play and where a greater wealth of data lies within reach, I find my ambitions in research to lie within synthetic biology.

My interest in Biomedical Sciences first began when I studied Biology GCSE in school. Throughout my primary school years I had read books and encyclopedias regarding the human body and its various components. Society alone depends solely upon such expansions, therefore the urge to contribute to a life-changing profession has long since ignited my interest in a biomedical science course. Alongside the need to apply a Biology built science to medical use, the opportunity to be educated further on the complexity of the human body has given the motivation to steer me towards a well-regarded specialty such as this. During my first year of sixth form I had done work experience in a nursery named Scallywags Nursery.

Since I was a child, catching butterflies and chasing snakes under the rays of the summer sun in my backyard, I have always maintained a passion for wildlife. I love animals, and want to devote my life to studying them and working toward the conservation of the myriad of species that roam the Earth. Thus, in 2015, I contacted a local professor interested in mammal research and asked if I could help in one of his projects over the summer. Dr. Paul Keenlance of Grand Valley State University graciously offered me the opportunity to work with him and a graduate student in the Manistee National Forest. I participated in a field research experience to study the effects of climate change on populations of woodland jumping mice in northern Michigan. I spent the summer trekking through the woods, setting Sherman live traps, and collecting DNA samples from

This semester I enrolled Biology 101 course with Dr. Smith-Pearson. One of our assignments this semester was an outside of the classroom volunteer project. For this project I was selected to participate in the Tri- Beta Breast Cancer Walk. As participants, we had to do several things to prepare for the volunteer event including a learning session. During this session, we learned exactly what breast cancer is, the different types, and the main causes. I further learned about breast cancer through a scientific aspect in my biology class. We learned that cancer is when cells are over actively reproduced, which is caused by a mutation in the cell cycle and suppresses our bodies ability to function normally to stop this. Also, we learned about some of the different subtypes of breast cancer like, HER2+ (ER-), Basal-Like (Triple Negative Breast Cancer), Normal-Like, Luminal A, and Luminal B. HER2+ (ER-) breast cancer is less common, but it is very aggressive. HER2 is a gene in our bodies that produces receptor proteins, which are responsible for regulating the growth and repair of breast cells. When these HER2 receptor proteins are expressed too much, it causes excessive reproduction of breast cells. It is thought that African Americans have a higher risk for this type. Basal-Like, or more commonly called, Triple Negative Breast Cancer is very aggressive, usually the most aggressive. Basal-like means that the ways the cells look with this cancer resemble cells that line

For as long as I can remember I've always had an interest in helping those that are unable to help themselves, especially animals. By completing a degree in Animal Biology I hope to further my knowledge on the animals that I'm so passionate about, so that I can help them more efficiently and instead of just taking them to a person for the care , I can be the person that heals them and cares for them. A couple of the core skills I hope to acquire by completing this program are problem solving skills,diagnostic, and critical thinking skills, all of which are extremely important in the field.While I'm completing my classes I plan to participate in an internship at a veterinarian clinic for experience and to see what being out in the field feels

“Research In Biological Sciences” appeals to my passion in biology. My interest in biology was heightened in the summer of 2014, when I attended Rice University’s Duke TIP Summer Studies Program in “Modern Medicine.” There, I learned about various types of viruses and pathogens that have attacked the human race over the past 2000 years, such as smallpox and measles. Every new topic we learned fascinated and intrigued me. After the camp ended, I was hooked into studying the evolution of bacteria and read articles on the subject for the rest of the summer.

When I began thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up, all I knew was that I wanted to work with water, but also work with animals at the same time. So now, as a sophomore in high school, I’m pretty confident to say that my STEM area of interest is Biology, because I want to become a marine biologist, to incorporate both of my desires. I think this path would be best for me because of how much I already incorporate biology in my everyday life in school and in my own time. Due to my interest in biology, I began partnering with Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in 2015 to research biodiversity in the neighboring Wilson Creek.

The biology program at Mississippi State University came to my attention through the advertisement for graduate school, at the EvolDir website. In the past couple of weeks, I have been in communication with Dr. Mark Welch about joining his lab. His research on island iguanas uses genetics to examine variation within natural populations parallels my own interest and I feel that with my skill set I could make a significant contribution to his research while becoming a more accomplished and knowledgeable

As my Major is Animal Science, my career goal is also to work in the field that related to animal science and agribusiness.

Since the encounter to 'Network Motifs' by Uri Alon's book 'Design Principles of Biological Networks' during my Integrated Masters at University of Hyderabad; systems biology has immensely captivated me. Further in time; academic courses, workshops and projects guided me to unearth this as the area that I want to pursue as my research. Although new, this field gives a holistic perspective to the historically reductionist outlook of the biological systems.