Sample Biology Personal Statement
It was studying biology at A-level that persuaded me that I should like to do a degree course in biomedical sciences and work in this field as a career. I have a deep interest in the workings of the body, particularly the chemical and cellular functions, and I am very much aware that this is an area of science which is developing rapidly and that many exciting discoveries are still to be made. My particular enthusiasm at the moment is for cytology. Work on the human genes and their involvement in diseases is likely to be a key area of medicine during my lifetime, and I should like to be involved in the changes that are bound to come, in diagnosis and treatment as well as in public attitudes to disease. The science fascinates me, but I am also attracted by the diversity of the subject, and the variety of career specialisms open to me with a degree in biomedical sciences. Medical microbiology, clinical chemistry, virology, immunology and the transfusion service are all possible career routes to follow. I enjoy lab work, and I hope that I could go on to gain a Master’s degree after graduation and then work in one of these areas, probably cytogenetics. The thought of being at the cutting edge of scientific research as well as perhaps being in a position to make a real difference to people’s lives is a thrilling prospect.
Cytology interests me because of the radical new understandings it can offer of how diseases work and why certain patients contract them. It is already possible to some degree to identify those who are genetically at high risk of developing medical conditions, and the research involved is full of new and surprising insights. It calls for the examination of family history, the measuring of biochemical markers to indicate chromosome problems, the sampling of blood, solid tissue and skin, biochemical testing and DNA studies. New approaches to such pathologies will be developed, but genetic counselling will perhaps always be a large part of the cytologist’s armoury. The great breakthroughs, of course, will come in the development of therapies and medicines which will counteract genetic abnormalities. How wonderful it would be to see the end of family histories of cancer, for example, or even the incidence of Down’s. Genetic medicine is a relatively new science, but I believe it is showing itself to be far more complex (and interesting) than was at first thought.
I have some experience of the world of work through a placement at a library, where I was particularly concerned with the IT system used there. This helped me to develop my IT skills and also gave me the chance to work with other people. Outside my biological interests I have many pastimes, particularly sporting. I have played football in a team, which has again given me some experience of working in a group, a necessary skill in the laboratory. At the moment I am enjoying a gap year, partly to give me the chance to retake my A-levels, because I was very ill during the last exam period and failed to do myself justice, and I intend to spend the rest of my year studying and learning Tagalong, the intriguing original language of the Philippines.
I am a hard-working and determined individual, with good academic ability and considerable ambition. I have great intellectual curiosity and I enjoy researching into those topics that intrigue me. I have considerable initiative, and can be relied on to work very reliably on my own, but I also enjoy being part of a group and cooperating with colleagues and peers. I devote all my energy to anything I have chosen to do, and I am sure I should bring as much that is positive to a degree course as I should draw from it. I hope you will consider my application.
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