Personal Statement
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been obsessed with figuring out why we think and act the way we do. I would often play silly “mind games” with myself, or wonder if someone was experiencing the same physical experiences I was. You can imagine how I felt upon learning about neurons and the various cortices of the brain. Then I did not quite know how to put it in words, but now I realise that I am enamored by cognitive science, specifically the environmental and genetic factors that determine behavior. Moreover, as a neuroscience major, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to various types of biology academically. This year I took Introduction to Biology, which has been one of the most fulfilling academic experiences
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I currently volunteering at the Hood Visual Sciences Lab at Columbia University. As a research assistant, I analyze and create patient reports from Optical Coherence Tomography and visual field tests. These reports are later used to diagnose or analyze prognosis of glaucoma. Working in the Hood Lab is extremely fascinating as I get firsthand experience with technology and techniques that will revolutionize the practice of ophthalmology. For example, specialists are interested in developing a method to create a one-page report based on wide-field OCT that can allow glaucoma to be diagnosed early, accurately and effectively. It is also pretty interesting to be involved in a project that investigates the relationship between thinning of cpRNFL and patterns of sensitivity loss, and explores technology that could lead to being able to see individual ganglion …show more content…
Last summer I volunteered in the stroke rehabilitation unit of my local hospital, Hamilton General. I helped patients practice verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as physical activity. It was incredibly rewarding to see how hospital staff, families and even members of the community come together to help people become functional again. Improving and maintaining health is crucial to enjoying life—and being a part of that process for someone else would be extremely rewarding.
One of the projects I am interested in is “Validation of Functional CTCF Deletions from Large Scale Non-coding CRISPR Screen”. For one, CRISPR is of course incredibly exciting. As I have mentioned before, the future of gene editing is so exciting to me because we may one day be able to potentially cure diseases like phenylketonuria or cystic fibrosis. Furthermore, I am really interested in non-coding DNA in particular, since it is not as well studied or understood. I would love the opportunity to learn more about how non coding variations affect