Oh how things change...
First of all, I would like to thank the_raphos, _franke_, luckyelephant, lemerde, and retronami for their comments on my Statement of Purpose a week or two back. Most especially I would like to thank mythagon for pointing out a slight flaw... In all the bumbling about in the first half of the paper I managed to miss answering a key question: why am I changing careers? With her help I managed to correct that problem, and rewrite half the paper in the process. The combination of all of these efforts has led to a very nice Statement of Purpose that looks almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the Statement of Purpose that I posted before. In two days it will be printed and turned in with the rest of my application package. I thought I would post to let everyone see how things turned out. (Note: with two days left it will probably be editted at least another 4 times or so, but that will mostly be small things, so it's pretty close)
Drum roll please...
Imagine a society where a person is still considered young at age 50; where the accumulated wisdom of half a century is not lost on frail bodies and failing minds. Imagine the accomplishments of an Einstein still working in prime health at 150 years of age. These are the dreams that have led me to the biomedical field.
I started my career as an engineer, driven to expand our knowledge of space in and promote our expansion into the galaxy. This path has taken me through my academic career, earning my Bachelor of Science and, in a few months, my Master or Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics. However, lately I have become discontent. I have found success in this field, evidenced by a strong academic record and awards for both academic excellence and research publications. I have found my colleagues to be intelligent, dedicated, and supportive. I enjoy the problem solving aspect of the work and remain in strong support of an active space program. With all of this, why am I not satisfied?
To answer this question I looked within myself to find the rationale behind my emotions. I came to realize that my interest in space exploration stems from a deeper passion for humankind; a desire to see humanity make its next great advancement. Space exploration has always seemed the logical next step, but after three years working in the aerospace industry my opinion has changed. My current research in controlled fusion is just one example. The community is widely split on where to invest the funding and a functioning fusion power plant is projected 30 years or more in the future with applications in space still further out. The field had, in my eyes, lost the potential attracted me to it in the first place. I started to look around at other areas.
Above all else I am a scientist. A natural curiosity and logical mind make research my ideal career. I had no desire to leave science, so I began exploring different branches and came upon aging and human life extension. The field immediately grabbed my imagination. It certainly fit my underlying passion more truly than the struggling space program. Extending the average lifespan by any significant margin will give us a greater potential as a species, not through improved technology or expanded territory as with space exploration, but by increasing the potential of each individual. I found myself spending more and more of my time reading through websites and papers on longevity research. I made my way through everything from the plethora of research on the basic biology of aging to the ideas proposed by more radical groups and scientists such as Dr. Aubrey de Grey and his Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence. The workings of the human mind and body have always intrigued me. In my reading I found answers to many casual questions that have come up in the past. Even at that, for every question answered I found myself with ten new ones, which only served to boost my curiosity. Even as I was becoming excited for the new field I knew such a major decision could not be made lightly. I took several months to research the field and consider my options before I committed to the change.
Now that I have made the decision to pursue a career in the biomedical field, the question is: what lies ahead? Coming from an engineering background my first challenge will be to develop a basic understanding of biology. I have already started this process by purchasing “Molecular Biology of the Cell”, by Bruce Alberts, et al., a text that has come highly recommended by several member of the biomedical community as a good overview of molecular and cellular biology. Over the past several months I have read about half of the text and hope to finish by the end of this school year. In addition, I have just completed a prerequisite general chemistry course so that I may take an introductory biology series (Biology 180, 200, and 220) between now and autumn quarter. I also plan to take an introductory genetics course (Genome 371) during summer quarter. This will give me some academic base in biology from which to launch my graduate career. I bring to the field a strong background in mathematics (including a minor in theoretical math and a graduate series in applied math), in physics, and in engineering, as well as more than four years of research experience. Within my current research I have worked with optical diagnostics used to study high temperature plasmas that have many conceptual similarities to those used to study biological systems. My experience in computational plasma physics will also be valuable if I get involved in computational biology. While my experience and skill set do not meet the tradition picture of an incoming graduate student in the biomedical fields, my academic record shows that I am a capable student and my engineering experience will allow me to provide a rare perspective on any of the projects I become involved with.
Beyond the purely academic portion of my transition I have spent a lot of time looking at the various branches of biology and medicine to see what they have to offer. In doing this I have had the opportunity to meet with many of the faculty and graduate students at the University of Washington. This has given me a glimpse of the types of biomedical research being pursued. I find the Ellison Project to be the most intriguing. The strategy of determining which genes play a role in aging in a simple organism and then testing related genes in more complex organisms strikes me as a novel approach to understanding the processes involved in aging and determining which mechanisms have been highly conserved in the aging process. Within this project I have spoken with Dr. Brian Kennedy, whose lab works to identify the genes in the yeast genome that have a significant role in aging, and Dr. Peter Rabinovitch, whose lab takes these genes and looks for similar roles in the aging process of mice. Both portions of the project appeal to me in different ways; working with yeast because it involves identifying new gene functions, and working with mice because studying mammals provides a more direct insight into human biology.
Another topic that I am interested in studying is computation prediction of protein folding and unfolding, which is the focus of Dr. David Baker and Dr. Valerie Daggett. The ability to predict the folding pattern of a protein based on its amino acid sequence or, conversely, to determine the amino acid sequence of a hypothetical protein with a desired set of properties can be a powerful tool in interpreting DNA sequences, designing proteins for specific purposes, and predicting the behavior of proteins with known amino acid sequences. This research topic would also take advantage of my background in mathematics and computational physics.
While I have looked into these projects in some depth, there are many other areas that I find interesting. These include stem cells, the studies of premature aging in Werner Syndrome, and the countless projects in cancer research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. I know that I have still only just scratched the surface and look forward to exploring a few of the different research laboratories during my first year of study.
Looking at the biomedical departments from an academic perspective has allowed me to develop a feel for the community. Coming into the field late in my academic career I want to become active right away. I would like to start an organization that will focus on the problems associated with aging, not just from a scientific perspective, but from a social, ethical, and political perspective as well. On the scientific side, I would like to look at the significant challenges involved with curing age related disease and reversing age related metabolic degradation. On the social, ethical, and political side, I would like to develop strategies that will allow society to adapt to the extended human life spans associated with solving the scientific problems. In the beginning this organization would function as a discussion group composed of students and young professionals from multiple disciplines. In the long term such a group could take many other projects, from internet based resources for research groups to hosting conferences and speakers. The primary purpose will be to generate discussion, particularly at the student level, and to develop strategies and find solutions to the problems associated with human life extension.
Looking to the future I want to base my career in the pursuit of same dream that has brought me into the field. An academic career will provide the opportunity to lead research and participate actively in the community at a higher level, while passing my experience on to the next generation of researchers. What I want from this graduate program is the experience and technical background necessary to become a leader in the biomedical field. What I offer in return is an engineer’s perspective and a dedication founded in a passion for both the work and the underlying motivation.
Drum roll please...
Imagine a society where a person is still considered young at age 50; where the accumulated wisdom of half a century is not lost on frail bodies and failing minds. Imagine the accomplishments of an Einstein still working in prime health at 150 years of age. These are the dreams that have led me to the biomedical field.
I started my career as an engineer, driven to expand our knowledge of space in and promote our expansion into the galaxy. This path has taken me through my academic career, earning my Bachelor of Science and, in a few months, my Master or Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics. However, lately I have become discontent. I have found success in this field, evidenced by a strong academic record and awards for both academic excellence and research publications. I have found my colleagues to be intelligent, dedicated, and supportive. I enjoy the problem solving aspect of the work and remain in strong support of an active space program. With all of this, why am I not satisfied?
To answer this question I looked within myself to find the rationale behind my emotions. I came to realize that my interest in space exploration stems from a deeper passion for humankind; a desire to see humanity make its next great advancement. Space exploration has always seemed the logical next step, but after three years working in the aerospace industry my opinion has changed. My current research in controlled fusion is just one example. The community is widely split on where to invest the funding and a functioning fusion power plant is projected 30 years or more in the future with applications in space still further out. The field had, in my eyes, lost the potential attracted me to it in the first place. I started to look around at other areas.
Above all else I am a scientist. A natural curiosity and logical mind make research my ideal career. I had no desire to leave science, so I began exploring different branches and came upon aging and human life extension. The field immediately grabbed my imagination. It certainly fit my underlying passion more truly than the struggling space program. Extending the average lifespan by any significant margin will give us a greater potential as a species, not through improved technology or expanded territory as with space exploration, but by increasing the potential of each individual. I found myself spending more and more of my time reading through websites and papers on longevity research. I made my way through everything from the plethora of research on the basic biology of aging to the ideas proposed by more radical groups and scientists such as Dr. Aubrey de Grey and his Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence. The workings of the human mind and body have always intrigued me. In my reading I found answers to many casual questions that have come up in the past. Even at that, for every question answered I found myself with ten new ones, which only served to boost my curiosity. Even as I was becoming excited for the new field I knew such a major decision could not be made lightly. I took several months to research the field and consider my options before I committed to the change.
Now that I have made the decision to pursue a career in the biomedical field, the question is: what lies ahead? Coming from an engineering background my first challenge will be to develop a basic understanding of biology. I have already started this process by purchasing “Molecular Biology of the Cell”, by Bruce Alberts, et al., a text that has come highly recommended by several member of the biomedical community as a good overview of molecular and cellular biology. Over the past several months I have read about half of the text and hope to finish by the end of this school year. In addition, I have just completed a prerequisite general chemistry course so that I may take an introductory biology series (Biology 180, 200, and 220) between now and autumn quarter. I also plan to take an introductory genetics course (Genome 371) during summer quarter. This will give me some academic base in biology from which to launch my graduate career. I bring to the field a strong background in mathematics (including a minor in theoretical math and a graduate series in applied math), in physics, and in engineering, as well as more than four years of research experience. Within my current research I have worked with optical diagnostics used to study high temperature plasmas that have many conceptual similarities to those used to study biological systems. My experience in computational plasma physics will also be valuable if I get involved in computational biology. While my experience and skill set do not meet the tradition picture of an incoming graduate student in the biomedical fields, my academic record shows that I am a capable student and my engineering experience will allow me to provide a rare perspective on any of the projects I become involved with.
Beyond the purely academic portion of my transition I have spent a lot of time looking at the various branches of biology and medicine to see what they have to offer. In doing this I have had the opportunity to meet with many of the faculty and graduate students at the University of Washington. This has given me a glimpse of the types of biomedical research being pursued. I find the Ellison Project to be the most intriguing. The strategy of determining which genes play a role in aging in a simple organism and then testing related genes in more complex organisms strikes me as a novel approach to understanding the processes involved in aging and determining which mechanisms have been highly conserved in the aging process. Within this project I have spoken with Dr. Brian Kennedy, whose lab works to identify the genes in the yeast genome that have a significant role in aging, and Dr. Peter Rabinovitch, whose lab takes these genes and looks for similar roles in the aging process of mice. Both portions of the project appeal to me in different ways; working with yeast because it involves identifying new gene functions, and working with mice because studying mammals provides a more direct insight into human biology.
Another topic that I am interested in studying is computation prediction of protein folding and unfolding, which is the focus of Dr. David Baker and Dr. Valerie Daggett. The ability to predict the folding pattern of a protein based on its amino acid sequence or, conversely, to determine the amino acid sequence of a hypothetical protein with a desired set of properties can be a powerful tool in interpreting DNA sequences, designing proteins for specific purposes, and predicting the behavior of proteins with known amino acid sequences. This research topic would also take advantage of my background in mathematics and computational physics.
While I have looked into these projects in some depth, there are many other areas that I find interesting. These include stem cells, the studies of premature aging in Werner Syndrome, and the countless projects in cancer research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. I know that I have still only just scratched the surface and look forward to exploring a few of the different research laboratories during my first year of study.
Looking at the biomedical departments from an academic perspective has allowed me to develop a feel for the community. Coming into the field late in my academic career I want to become active right away. I would like to start an organization that will focus on the problems associated with aging, not just from a scientific perspective, but from a social, ethical, and political perspective as well. On the scientific side, I would like to look at the significant challenges involved with curing age related disease and reversing age related metabolic degradation. On the social, ethical, and political side, I would like to develop strategies that will allow society to adapt to the extended human life spans associated with solving the scientific problems. In the beginning this organization would function as a discussion group composed of students and young professionals from multiple disciplines. In the long term such a group could take many other projects, from internet based resources for research groups to hosting conferences and speakers. The primary purpose will be to generate discussion, particularly at the student level, and to develop strategies and find solutions to the problems associated with human life extension.
Looking to the future I want to base my career in the pursuit of same dream that has brought me into the field. An academic career will provide the opportunity to lead research and participate actively in the community at a higher level, while passing my experience on to the next generation of researchers. What I want from this graduate program is the experience and technical background necessary to become a leader in the biomedical field. What I offer in return is an engineer’s perspective and a dedication founded in a passion for both the work and the underlying motivation.