A career in cancer research has been my objective since before I entered college. My extensive personal experiences with this disease have deeply impacted my goals and aspirations as both a scientist and as a student. Unlike many undergraduates, I have accumulated an extensive amount of research experience during my undergraduate career, working to answer a broad range of biological questions. These diverse experiences have directly impacted my decision to pursue a graduate degree in immunology, and have provided me with a wealth of skills and knowledge that I believe will make me a successful Ph.D. candidate.
Initially, upon entering college, I sought to pursue a chemical and biological engineering degree. However, after obtaining a research …show more content…
Rob Kuchta’s lab at CU Boulder, I had the opportunity to work on two wholly different projects. The Kuchta Lab is broadly interested in the mechanisms of DNA replication as well as unnatural building blocks of DNA, such as nucleotide analogues. Under Dr. Kuchta’s guidance, I investigated the incorporation of novel fluorescent nucleotide analogues by DNA polymerases. Previous work in the Kuchta Lab identified several cytosine-derived analogues with a tricyclic framework that were inserted more efficiently than their canonical counterparts. However, these analogues showed low specificity for incorporation opposite G versus A, which diminished their potential for use in numerous applications. Consequently, this drove us to search for a derivative with more specific incorporation …show more content…
Not only was I working on my own, without help from a graduate mentor, but these projects were organic chemistry-focused—an area of study where I have little knowledge in comparison to biochemistry and molecular biology. Despite the challenges that this presented, I was very fortunate that Dr. Kuchta encouraged me to be independent and to work on projects that pushed me out of my comfort zone. Regardless of the struggles that this caused for me at first, I know that without this opportunity, my problem solving skills would not be as well-honed nor would my laboratory skills be as
Initially, upon entering college, I sought to pursue a chemical and biological engineering degree. However, after obtaining a research …show more content…
Rob Kuchta’s lab at CU Boulder, I had the opportunity to work on two wholly different projects. The Kuchta Lab is broadly interested in the mechanisms of DNA replication as well as unnatural building blocks of DNA, such as nucleotide analogues. Under Dr. Kuchta’s guidance, I investigated the incorporation of novel fluorescent nucleotide analogues by DNA polymerases. Previous work in the Kuchta Lab identified several cytosine-derived analogues with a tricyclic framework that were inserted more efficiently than their canonical counterparts. However, these analogues showed low specificity for incorporation opposite G versus A, which diminished their potential for use in numerous applications. Consequently, this drove us to search for a derivative with more specific incorporation …show more content…
Not only was I working on my own, without help from a graduate mentor, but these projects were organic chemistry-focused—an area of study where I have little knowledge in comparison to biochemistry and molecular biology. Despite the challenges that this presented, I was very fortunate that Dr. Kuchta encouraged me to be independent and to work on projects that pushed me out of my comfort zone. Regardless of the struggles that this caused for me at first, I know that without this opportunity, my problem solving skills would not be as well-honed nor would my laboratory skills be as