Stem Cell Personal Statement

I walked out into the parking lot where my dad always picked me up from football practice. As I got closer, he got out of his car and walked towards me. He put his hands on my shoulders and said, “she died.” For as long as I can remember my mom was sick with cancer. My curiosity led me to her doctor’s appointments, where our family physician answered my questions about radiation and taught me how to give my mother insulin and take her blood pressure. When I was fourteen, my mother passed away. I did not realize it as the time because I was so absorbed by losing my mom, but I now recognize that my mother’s medical history is what sparked my interest in medicine. However, my own experiences have held my attention in recent years. During my …show more content…
Although I quickly learned the ins and outs of stem cell research through many hours of practicing new techniques, I also realized the hardships that come along with research. I can vividly remember the first time I was able to show that knocking out an isoform of the Musashi gene led to fewer and smaller tumors on the intestines of mice, only after 5 months of work. I have always been intrigued by the ability of medicine to not only decrease mortality but also decrease morbidity through research. Recently, I have been testing new drug therapies in mice used as models of human cancers. To be involved in the translational science spectrum of medicine has further inspired me to pursue a career in medicine. After taking the human physiology lab, which is better known as the right of passage for all pre-meds at UCSD, I discovered my passion for physiology and the human body, specifically how the nervous system controls muscle mechanics. My interest in maintaining a healthy balanced lifestyle through exercise and my new found admiration for muscle mechanics has lead me to want to pursue research in exercise