Most high school seniors are unsure about eventual career choices. What experiences have led you to consider medicine as your future profession? Please describe specifically why you have chosen to apply to the Program in Liberal Medical Education in pursuit of your career in medicine. Also, be sure to indicate your rationale on how the PLME is a "good fit" for your personal, academic and future professional goals. (Limit your response to this question to 500 words.)
As the son of two doctors, I have always enjoyed listening to medical stories about how my Dad relieved a patient’s back pain, or how my Mom helped her patients walk again. The satisfaction that comes from helping others every day that I hear in my parents’ voices, is something I have always aspired to. I first became interested in pursuing the medical profession when I was placed in the “Disease Detectives” event for our middle school Science Olympiad team. I was instantly intrigued as well as alarmed by the various illnesses that still pose dangers globally. Over time, I became most interested in finding solutions to deadly diseases such as cancer, which unmercifully eat away at the body. I realized that I would find it most rewarding to make a career of helping to eradicate life-‐threatening illnesses. What makes me particularly suited to the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) are my steadfast work ethic, my insatiable curiosity, my strong sense of compassion, my creative problem-‐solving skills, and my previous experience in which I pursued cutting-‐edge research on cancer prevention this past summer, at the Research Science Institute (“RSI”) at MIT. There, in Prof. [name]'s lab, I devised a unique method of detecting cancer cells before they metastasize.
Knowing many people who were affected by cancer, I started to read more and more articles about this disease to broaden my knowledge. I discovered that there are more than 200 different types of cancer that affect more than ten million people each year. The deadliness of this disease and other similarly debilitating illnesses inspired me to launch my research. Curious about how cancer spreads, I studied new ways in which the origin of cancer could be located and metastasis could be inhibited.
This past summer’s research yielded a unique method of using magnetic nanoparticles to separate and analyze circulating tumor cells, which could lead to new methods of inhibiting metastasis, apoptosis and proliferation of cells. While working with cancer cells in the lab everyday, I confirmed my passion and dream of having the opportunity to not only become a clinical researcher in the quest for a cure, but also to serve as a practicing oncologist who would bring the best care to ailing patients. I would thrill at the opportunity to help solve patients’ medical mysteries and improve their quality of life. My long-‐term dream is to be able to help people who contract painful life-‐threatening diseases, and I know I’ll stop at nothing to find a cure.
PLME is tailored to my interests because it would allow me to explore environmental science and other humanities subjects, while still focusing on medicine. I love that Brown encourages research and wouldn’t require me to take specific classes that I may not be entirely interested in. By not having to fulfill relevant requirements, I would be able to intensively explore my passion in alternative energy and political science while following the path to becoming a doctor.
Since the Program in Liberal Medical Education espouses a broad-based liberal education, please describe your fields of interest in both the sciences and the liberal arts. Be specific about what courses and aspects of the program will be woven into a potential educational plan. (Limit your response to this question to 500 words.)
If chosen to participate in Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education, I would create an exciting program to incorporate all of my diverse interests. Having studied and researched the mechanisms that promote the spread of cancer, I would love to delve deeper into the concentration, Molecular Biology & Biochemistry. I am eager to better understand how cancer metastasis could be treated. As a student in the PLME program, I would plan to take challenging courses in the Division of Biology and Medicine like “Principles of Immunology” and “Cancer Biology.”
I’d be especially excited to mix fundamental biology study with clinical sciences in research investigations at the Alpert Medical School. What I love about the PLME program is that it would provide lots of appealing hands-‐on opportunities such as the Preclinical Electives and the Medicine in Action Program. During my time at Brown, I would hope to gain a solid understanding of how life works at the molecular level. Thus I would look forward to studying immunology and pharmacology while enrolling in the Preclinical Electives. I would find it most exciting to explore subjects like cell biology, biochemistry, immunology and genetics. Furthermore, as the son of two doctors, I have shadowed many knowledgeable doctors, but I would love the opportunity to learn from some of the world’s medical experts at Alpert Medical School. I would thrill at the opportunity to shadow an oncologist to watch how he or she interacts with patients and devises treatments.
In addition to focusing on medicine and medical research, I would also want to pursue course work in environmental science and sustainability to help find solutions to the looming energy crisis. Having invented a photosynthetic solar cell that is both affordable and efficient, I would be eager to explore this form of sustainable energy further. I’m most attracted to classes such as “Renewable Energy Technologies” and “Energy Resources.” In addition to the science aspects of energy, I would be interested in gaining and understanding of the policy and budgetary aspects. As such, I would definitely enroll in “Energy Policy and Politics.”
For my summers at Brown, I would apply for the Summer Research Assistantship in Biomedical Sciences, hoping to focus full‐time on pursuing cutting-‐ edge cancer research with some of the world’s top faculty members in medicine. If selected, I would propose a research plan to discover a new method of slowing down and ultimately inhibiting the entire process of metastasis.
I would want to supplement my heavy science focus with a selection of courses in the liberal arts to round out my program and further broaden my horizons. Having taken a We the People class in high school, in which we explored the constitution, I have developed a strong interest in studying political science and learning more about our role as a citizen. Among the courses that I find most alluring are “Constitutional Law: Governmental Powers,” “Political Institutions of East Asian Democracies,” “Politics, Markets and States,” and “Constitutional Theory.”