Explain your interest in the major you selected and describe how you have recently explored or developed this interest inside and/or outside the classroom. You may also explain how this major relates to your future career goals. If you're applying to the Division of General Studies, explain your academic interests and strengths or your future career goals. You may include any majors or areas of study you're currently considering. (300-400 words)
Biomedical Engineering has been my passion; a gateway of sorts that I believe will constitute the future of medical and health sciences. It is in this dynamic field that I hope to someday make my mark in society.
My interest first started in the summer of 2010 when I read an article in the National Geographic magazine that described the possibility of “de-extinction”, a process where scientists revived recently extinct species by acquiring viable fragments of their DNA. Of course, as a 6th grader, my first thought was Jurassic Park. In the coming weeks, I pored over articles on de-extinction, leading me to a treasure trove of information on genetics and cell biology.
The following summer, I lost my grandfather to cancer; this life-changing event drove me towards medical research. My once innocent interest in genetics suddenly became a serious passion, as I decided to act on it. In 2013, I started an internship at a biotechnology company called Molecular Devices. During the first year, I worked on data reporting and learnt how to culture cells and use proprietary advanced imaging systems. It was during this time that my interest turned into research. I worked long hours, starting right after school and leaving long after my mentor left. I began to run my own trials, and within a year, I had acquired all the core competencies. The following year, I started working on a joint publication with my mentor, Dr. Sirenko, which looked at morphometric characteristics of cancer spheroid cultures through 3D image analysis. This poster was submitted to the SLAS 2016 conference. Through this experience, I became enlightened to the possibilities held within biomedical research. Last summer, I decided to conduct my own independent research.
Consulting with Dr. Andrade and Dr. Cunningham, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I developed a point of care biomedical device that diagnoses degenerative diseases using auto fluorescent biomarkers and smartphone technology. My science fair project won second place at the California State Science Fair this past May and was different from the others I had worked on over the last six years. It symbolized the culmination of a journey I had embarked on that summer day in 2010 and the beginning of a new one leading up to my goal to study Biomedical Engineering in college and beyond.