Neurobiology Personal Statement

I am applying for admission to your Ph.D. Neurobiology program. My deep interest in neurobiology crystallized in my mind in my second undergraduate year. I recall that moment distinctly---it occurred during a lecture on the molecular mechanism of learning and memory. Paying rapt attention to the famous Dr. Yi Zhong during his course of Fundamental Neuroscience, I sat bolt upright as he unraveled the chapter on Synaptic Plasticity, revealing how unconscious chemical changes at the molecular and cellular levels correlate to memory, a completely conscious process. As I obtained a double major in economics, the theory of “rational economist” attracted me and it was my intention to more fully comprehend the nature of rationality, and further,

At the same time, I have matured as a scientific researcher as time has passed. For example, as I began one particular project, I participated in the research on the critical genes involved in Rac-dependent forgetting mechanism, in order to further elucidate how this small G protein employs the downstream cytoskeleton remodeling to erase memory, based on our previous work (Shuai Y, 2010). We performed a set of genetic cross procedures to combine rac and the candidate gene together in order to synchronously manipulate the on-off of these genes. As a newcomer in lab, to precisely identify the offspring flies with successfully combined gene pairs became a challenge for me. I designed two parallel methods for double-checking the results of gene combine: with two different combinations of primers used in PCR amplification of the same template, I surmised that there would be corresponding band patterns in gel electrophoresis; this was indeed the case. I also was able to tactfully manipulate positive controls, in addition to recruiting various approaches to prove the same conclusion; this is an intellectually enjoyable part of the research process, and is indubitably a key difference between technicians and

After analyzing the reported behavioral results based on several different learning paradigms (Plaçais PY & Preat T, 2013; Hirano Y, et al., 2013), I discerned that LTM formation following different types of information input, namely, aversive or appetitive, seemed to depend on different internal energy states. The consolidation of aversive LTM requires higher individual energy level, while the consolidation of appetitive LTM doesn’t. In my view, only when the individual’s demand for energy supply is satisfied, can it allocate its cognition resources to process the information other than that about how to obtain food. On the molecular level, such an energy state may be sensed through an insulin-mediated pathway (Slack C, et al., 2015), together with its downstream MAPK, which essentially participates in memory retention. Our recent work indicated the pivotal role of MAPK importin in aversive LTM consolidation. With induced flies of this vital importin overexpression and RNAi-mediated knockdown, I found that this protein seemed not to be involved in formation of appetitive LTM, exactly supporting the previous energy-gated model that aversive and appetitive LTM bifurcated into different consolidation pathways. My current work now focuses on the search for other crucial genes involved in the molecular