As climate change, drug resistance and anthropogenic activities continue to be a boon to the proliferation of extant pathogens and the reemergence of supposedly eradicated pathogens—it is imperative to investigate the roles played by cells, organs and human body systems in the furtherance of these problems. For this reason, a Ph.D. in Cell, Molecular and Biomedical Science (CMB) at the University of Vermont would not only aid me to achieve my career goals; it would also make me play a crucial part in the fight against the plethora of infectious diseases that currently plague humankind. I developed an avid interest in biology in high school. This led me to graduate as the overall best student in biology. Following the achievement of this feat, I was spurred to major in microbiology. It was my sojourn into microbiology that sparked my interest in biomedical science and laid the necessary foundation for a career in it. My undergraduate curriculum introduced me to a variety of modules that included Immunology and Immunochemistry, Microbial Genetics and Molecular Biology, Parasitology, Microbial …show more content…
My M.Sc research was titled “In vitro Evaluation of Anthelmintic Activity of Crude Extracts of Selected Medicinal Plants on Ascaris Lumbricoides eggs”. There is a long tradition of using locally made herbal concoctions to treat intestinal parasitoses in Nigeria. Therefore it was necessary to investigate if they could be used as ovicides in high-risk areas. Since Ascaris lumbricoides eggs are notoriously hardy it would have been a marvel if the plant extracts could kill them. Results from my thesis showed that crude methanolic extracts of the selected medicinal plants were more active than crude aqueous extracts but they were not efficacious in killing the parasite ova. It also evinced that Ascaris lumbricoides remains one of the most difficult parasites to destroy in the