Personal Ambition to be a Researcher in Medical Biology
Biology is a cornerstone for our understanding of the natural world. My interest stemmed from a Chester Zoo trip. I was amazed by the diverse adaptations to the environments that the birds had. Then learning Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection in school really made me eager about finding out more about biology. A current topic that I'm doing that links to the degree is classification and evolution in which we briefly learned about taxonomy and how we can find out which organisms are closely related together. I currently do Chemistry which is beneficial because it has improved my ability to solve quantitative problems and developed my numeracy skills.
Furthermore, I do Geography which has enhanced my capability of understanding difficult concepts and being able to evaluate them, for instance, being able to find positives and negatives of schemes that have been put in place to help prevent the violation of human rights. A specific module that interests me is molecular biology because it’s fascinating; I would really like to know in detail how proteins develop and cause organisms to evolve and adjust to its surroundings. Organisms that cause disease also evolve gradually, and over time they become resistant to drugs. When you learn about where a disease started from, you can develop drugs to prevent it.
My ultimate ambition is to be a researcher in medical biology. Pursuing a career in this field helps many people because you develop one drug that can cure a disease that multiple people have. An experience that made me determined to pursue a degree in biology was spending a week at Somerville College in Oxford studying biology and living like a student. The lectures that we received were on evolution; it was different from the knowledge that I had in biology before. I learnt that biology can be applied to multiple different fields, such as looking at bird flight to improve the technology in drones.
A book that interested me was The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins; the book is a great explanation of how a gene with important characteristics starts to become dominant. The style of writing makes the book suitable for everyday readers. I think this is good because biologists will be able to easily share their ideas and inspire individuals to also pursue an interest in biology. To prepare me for this course I have gained diverse practical skills. In college, we had to work with E-coli bacteria to find out which antibiotic they were resistant to. I had to keep the equipment sterile and our environment clean and we had to pay attention to the practical for it to work.
I have also developed excellent communication skills, through acting as a student ambassador currently and as an anti-bullying ambassador previously, meaning I had to communicate effectively with a range of student and this would be essential in the role of a medical researcher. I received multiple awards during my time at school; one of these was a subject excellence award for science, which was for showing passion towards biology and doing well in the subject. I have also received a Recognition of Commitment to Independent Study award, for working outside of school on my studies and researching topics myself to achieve high grades.
For a week during Year 12, I did work experience in a pharmacy which was intriguing, I had to create medication packs for patients, what really fascinated me that certain age groups used similar types of drugs which other age groups did not. What I learned was how to really be organised and meet deadlines I hope enthusiasm towards the subject and determination to succeed will prepare me for the challenging life at university. Studying Biology at degree level will provide an opportunity to achieve my ambitions. I am looking forward to being taught by professionals who are passionate about their field of study.
