Sample Pharmacology Personal Statement
My first degree in Clinical Sciences included a number of modules on Pharmacology, covering Clinical, Biochemical and Behavioural Pharmacology and providing me with a good basic understanding of the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic principles involved in the processes in cells and organs. I am currently in my fourth year of medical studies at Aberdeen and I am keen to take a year out of the course in order to extend my knowledge of Pharmacology, which I feel is underrepresented in medical school even though it is a central feature of the physician’s armoury of skills and knowledge when he or she deals with real patients.
My academic record is strong and the range of my experience in theoretical and practical biochemical analysis is substantial. My lab work has included a project on the effects of varying acetylcholine concentration upon isolated smooth muscle contractibility alone and in the presence of atropine, a competitive antagonist. I have worked on quantifying the binding constant of neurotransmitter to receptors using radioligand binding techniques, and on changes in reversal learning after the administration of sub-chronic phencyclidine in rats. Other projects have included using monoclonal antibodies to define the distribution of leucocyte subpopulations in the rat spleen, and the effect of temperature and pH on the viability of mouse 3T3 cells. My written projects have covered the efficacy and safety of iron chelators in lowering serum ferritin in beta thalassaemia (a dissertation), the pharmacological profile of phenytoin and its limitations as an antiepileptic drug, and a comparison of the pharmacokinetics and safety profile of old and new antiepileptic drugs. I have also written a comparison of the pharmacokinetics and safety profiles of anticoagulants, a paper on genetics, age, disease and drug metabolism, and an account of plotting dose response curves and determining the maximum response with laboratory derived data, as well as an examination of the power of the placebo: effects of non-active compounds on biochemical and physical parameters.
I have given a number of presentations in academic contexts. At the10th International Scientific Congress in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Kuching, Malaysia, I spoke on “The efficacy of bivalent and tetravalent HPV vaccination against cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and persistent HPV 16 and 18 infection”. At the 9th World Congress on Brain Injury in Edinburgh, my title was “The need for endocrine screening following brain injury-induced hypothalamopituitary dysfunction”, and at the10th Shaukat Khanum Cancer Symposium in Lahore I presented a paper on “The efficacy, safety and suitability of anti HPV vaccinations for cervical cancer in a developing country”. I attended the 16th International Conference on Pharmaceutical Medicine in Spain, as well as a number of international conferences on thalassaemia and haemoglobinopathies, as I have a particular interest in iron chelators and their ability to reduce serum ferritin in beta thalassaemic patients. Several research papers are in the press at present. Titles include “The prevalence of hypopituitarism following traumatic brain injury”, “(TBI) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH): meta analysis” in Journal of Brain Injury (Accepted, in press), and “Presentation of atrial fibrillation post-subarachnoid haemorrhage”.
I am editor for the views and reviews section of the British Undergraduate Journal for Ophthalmology and an author for Simply Weight, a new medical weight loss company. I have tutored A-level students and some first year Pharmacology students including lab demonstrations.
I hope that my career will include research, teaching and clinical work, perhaps in clinical pharmacology, but possibly in neuropharmacology. I believe that much of the work I have already completed is highly relevant to the study of Pharmacology, and that I have the necessary qualities to succeed in the course.
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