My desire is to become an experimental physical chemist who studies biological systems. I hope to combine my interest in physical chemistry, and the knowledge I have gained working in a chemical biology research laboratory, to understand biological macromolecules at a fundamental level.
When I first attended organic chemistry seminars as a sophomore, I was impressed at the eloquence and the enthusiasm of the speakers. Endeavoring to have insights like those of experienced scientists, I took advantage of the college honors program to initiate a challenging honors paper for my organic chemistry class. In this paper, I discussed the research of six different research groups all seeking unique chemical ways to battle bacterial infections. The …show more content…
studies in chemistry. I have performed undergraduate research with Professor Scott Silverman at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, working on identifying DNA catalysts capable of cleaving peptide bonds. Single-stranded DNA is rich in secondary and tertiary structures, and specific sequences have been identified to catalyze various chemical reactions. DNA catalysts are identified through a strategy called in vitro selection, a process by which catalytically active sequences are selected from a pool of random sequences. My first project was to evaluate the effect of the electrophilicity and nucleophilicity in the DNA-catalyzed amide bond cleavage reaction. I worked closely with my graduate mentor and advisor in the design of the selection experiments. Also, I prepared nucleopeptide and oligonucleotide substrates, and performed the selection experiments. New DNA catalysts were not found, suggesting that 40-nucleotide-long DNA sequences do not have the capability to catalyze amide cleavage even with stronger nucleophiles and more electrophilic amide …show more content…
I found it remarkable how so many variables in the selection for new DNA catalysts are not fully understood, yet deoxyribozymes are identified through well-developed experiments. My two years of research identifying and characterizing DNA catalysts, combined with my excitement in physical chemistry, has motivated me to study biological systems with physical tools. MIT's highly advanced facilities and strong physical chemistry research labs that integrate various disciplines make it an ideal institution for me to pursue graduate study. Particularly, I am intrigued by the research groups that utilize and develop spectroscopic methods to study biomolecules. Prof. Gabriela Schlau-Cohen has caught my attention, with her research on using single-molecule and ultrafast spectroscopies to study photosynthetic and membrane proteins. Prof. Mei Hong's studies of influenza M2 proteins and plant cell walls using solid-state NMR spectroscopy align with my interest in determining the detailed structures, mechanisms and physical principles of biomolecules. My other desire is to develop tools that enable biological studies in novel approaches. I would like to further learn about Prof. Alexander Shalek's work on developing nanotechnology-based methods to study collective behavior of
When I first attended organic chemistry seminars as a sophomore, I was impressed at the eloquence and the enthusiasm of the speakers. Endeavoring to have insights like those of experienced scientists, I took advantage of the college honors program to initiate a challenging honors paper for my organic chemistry class. In this paper, I discussed the research of six different research groups all seeking unique chemical ways to battle bacterial infections. The …show more content…
studies in chemistry. I have performed undergraduate research with Professor Scott Silverman at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, working on identifying DNA catalysts capable of cleaving peptide bonds. Single-stranded DNA is rich in secondary and tertiary structures, and specific sequences have been identified to catalyze various chemical reactions. DNA catalysts are identified through a strategy called in vitro selection, a process by which catalytically active sequences are selected from a pool of random sequences. My first project was to evaluate the effect of the electrophilicity and nucleophilicity in the DNA-catalyzed amide bond cleavage reaction. I worked closely with my graduate mentor and advisor in the design of the selection experiments. Also, I prepared nucleopeptide and oligonucleotide substrates, and performed the selection experiments. New DNA catalysts were not found, suggesting that 40-nucleotide-long DNA sequences do not have the capability to catalyze amide cleavage even with stronger nucleophiles and more electrophilic amide …show more content…
I found it remarkable how so many variables in the selection for new DNA catalysts are not fully understood, yet deoxyribozymes are identified through well-developed experiments. My two years of research identifying and characterizing DNA catalysts, combined with my excitement in physical chemistry, has motivated me to study biological systems with physical tools. MIT's highly advanced facilities and strong physical chemistry research labs that integrate various disciplines make it an ideal institution for me to pursue graduate study. Particularly, I am intrigued by the research groups that utilize and develop spectroscopic methods to study biomolecules. Prof. Gabriela Schlau-Cohen has caught my attention, with her research on using single-molecule and ultrafast spectroscopies to study photosynthetic and membrane proteins. Prof. Mei Hong's studies of influenza M2 proteins and plant cell walls using solid-state NMR spectroscopy align with my interest in determining the detailed structures, mechanisms and physical principles of biomolecules. My other desire is to develop tools that enable biological studies in novel approaches. I would like to further learn about Prof. Alexander Shalek's work on developing nanotechnology-based methods to study collective behavior of