How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying. (400-650 words)
With my first step into the research lab, my apprehension gave way to wonder. Tantalized by the massive centrifuges and incessant whir of fume hoods, I moved to the lab benches and was struck by the precision with which technicians isolated blood leukocytes for vaccine testing. Cramming my notepad with procedures, diagrams, and “things to Google”, I beamed: this day alone would feed weeks of Wikipedia searches and conversations with my science teachers. I was already counting the days until I could work alongside these researchers to end infectious disease.
My job shadow in the HIV Vaccine Trials Network’s Immunology Laboratory was my first foray into the challenging but rewarding world of scientific research. By turning this initial job shadow into progressively tougher research experiences in stem cell research, regenerative medicine, microbiology, and diagnostic devices, I gradually narrowed down my general interest in the life sciences into a single passion: tackling global infectious diseases through laboratory research.
Once I had decided to pursue infectious disease research, the University of Pennsylvania was my natural college choice. Penn is unmatched in its quality of instruction, collaborative emphasis, and biomedical research programs, and I believe my inherent curiosity will thrive among Penn’s unique opportunities. By majoring in Biology and concentrating in Mechanisms of Disease, I will build a crucial foundation in chemistry and mathematics while immersing myself in fields like immunobiology and biological modeling.
My Penn Biology coursework will serve as a launchpad for extensive research in the laboratory. I am fascinated by Professor David Roos’s work on Apicomplexa parasites, which have enormous implications for malaria and global health. I want to contribute my research background on bacterial drug resistance to help him analyze the molecular mechanisms behind parasitic drug resistance. I would also love to apply the virology knowledge I gained at the University of Washington to help Professor Shelley Berger study the impact of DNA methylation on HSV-1 pathogenesis. As a Penn undergraduate researcher, I will not only learn from but also actively contribute to these faculty’s projects.
I must understand a breadth of disciplines to design effective therapies, however. By complementing my Biology major with a minor in Economics, I will take advantage of Penn’s stellar economics faculty and explore why, for example, incidents in China can change the way health issues need to be approached in Gambia or Bolivia. I want to pursue a Penn Economics minor so that I can better understand the globalized world and build practical biomedical solutions that succeed in developing economies.
Quaker student organizations even allow me to physically explore those developing nations. By serving in the Global Medical Brigades, I hope to understand the crucial field conditions in developing countries so that I may develop more practical solutions to infectious diseases. Most importantly, however, organizations like GMB allow me to continue my commitment to serving communities. At home in Philadelphia, Academically Based Community Service courses will be another key part of my Penn education. Through ABCS courses like Community Based Environmental Health and Science in Elementary and Middle Schools, I can fulfill two of the most important duties of any scientist: to directly improve human lives and to foster a new generation of future scientists.
My Penn experience would extend far beyond its classes – I want it to include groundbreaking research, meaningful service, immersive travel, and even the quirky student traditions that make this school Penn. I want to parade down Locust Walk with my hat and cane on Hey Day, go all-out at Quaker football games on Franklin Field, and make food runs to Wawa at 2:00am. In no other school could I pursue my research goals from so many lenses while engaging in a community that shares my “work hard, play hard” mentality. By fully pursuing Penn’s cornucopia of opportunities, I hope to do justice to the incredible institution that is the University of Pennsylvania.