With hands-on practice experience, I gained better insight into chronic diseases problems in China. During my internship in Canada, I had the opportunity to conduct research, as well as visit local hospitals and a community healthcare centers. I was amazed by their national and community screening plans and high-quality management system for chronic disease patients. Access to medical care was quite different from what I observed in China, where a majority of patients, especially poor and rural residents, are left with ineffective treatment and limited access to needed care. Although NCDs currently account for an estimated 80% of overall burden of disease, compared to infectious diseases, they failed to receive a national response commensurate with the burden. Moreover, there are not many population-based longitudinal research on the epidemiological …show more content…
I am thrilled at the prospect of gaining solid knowledge of epidemiological methodologies, quantitative and qualitative analytical skills and other multi-disciplinary knowledge and practice that I can use as building blocks to achieve my dreams. When preparing for my project on DNA methylation, I read the book “Epigenetic Epidemiology” by Professor Karin B. Michels, which introduced me the basic concepts of this field. The book and this experience gave showed me the state of the art on the epigenetic epidemiology and I was fascinated by this burgeoning field. I would therefore consider joining the research projects being conducted by Professor Karin B. Michels. Besides the required courses, I am also interested in the range of elective courses in chronic disease, including cancer epidemiology, nutrition epidemiology and genetic epidemiology. I believe that these courses will help me to understand the etiology, prevention and treatment of chronic disease