Application for MD/PhD programs requires three essays:
- Personal Statement
MD/PhD
Essay (a statement of interest specifically for both MD and PhD degrees)
-
Research Experience Essay (a detailed description of your research experiences)
I published my MD/PhD Essay as an example for students back in 2014 (link above). Hopefully my research essay will also be a helpful example.
My MD/PhD Research Essay
Prompt: Describe your significant research experiences. In
your statement, specify your research supervisor's name and affiliation, the
duration of the experience, the nature of the problem studied, and your
contributions to the project.
1) Toxicology, Ichthyology, and Marine Ecology Lab
Dr. Sandra Diamond (Ph.D., Zoology, North Carolina State
University), Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University
January 2011-Present
1a) Antibiotic Toxicology Project (January 2011-May 2012)
My research with Dr. Diamond began with the examination of an antibiotic,
Triclosan, that is included in many personal care products. After use,
Triclosan is carried through drains to wastewater treatment plants. While some
of the Triclosan is purged from waterways, a significant amount escapes and
reaches the oceans. There, it is incorporated into the fatty tissue of benthic
organisms, where it interferes with calcium signaling. The widespread
distribution of Triclosan is beginning to cause humans to acquire significant
levels of Triclosan, especially in breast milk. This could generate antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, and may even impede calcium signaling in humans. Our goal is to understand
the potential dangers of Triclosan in the environment.
I contributed to this project by working closely alongside a
graduate student and constructing a literature matrix on how Triclosan behaves
in the ocean. I participated in laboratory experiments, collected data,
maintained the laboratory, and helped proofread material for presentations.
For my work, I was acknowledged in "The Effects of
Triclosan on Reflex Responses and Anti-Predator Behavior in an Estuarine
Fish" (Tiffany L. Hopper-Hedrick and Sandra L. Diamond), a poster that my
group presented at the Ecological Society of America.
1b) TTU Shark Team (May 2012-December 2012)
Upon completion of the toxicology project, Dr. Diamond hired me onto the TTU
Shark Team, a group seeking to establish multi-national management of shark
fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico through a deeper understanding of shark ecology.
Historically, the oceans have been overexploited due to advances in technology
and competition for resources. Because sharks have long generation times, they
are particularly vulnerable. We use geographic information systems and
statistical analyses to map out seasonal distributions for fourteen species of
sharks.
In this group I contributed to the construction of a
literature matrix containing over 800 papers to communicate large-scale trends,
such as seasonal distributions. This experience has developed my critical
reading skills, increased my general understanding of scientific thought, and
prepared me to design an experiment of my own.
1c) TTU/Howard Hughes Medical Institute Affiliated Project (May
2012-Present)
After earning designation as a TTU/Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Undergraduate Research Scholar in May of 2012, Dr. Diamond gave me the
scientific freedom to design and carry out a research project.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is
increasing, causing the pH of the oceans to lower significantly. In addition,
ocean fertilization (the mass addition of nitrogen and phosphorus) is causing
algal blooms. Because algae use up oxygen, the dramatic increase in algal
populations has resulted in the creation of 'dead zones' in which there is
little or no oxygen. My research examines the synergistic effects of
acidification and hypoxia on Atlantic Croaker.
I am responsible for designing experiments, writing
protocols for acceptance by our Animal Care and Use Committee, collecting data,
making decisions concerning our budget, communicating with companies to
purchase scientific equipment, and writing a technical paper. Five months ago,
I was given the responsibility of organizing and training five undergraduates
in our lab to maintain our artificial ocean system while Dr. Diamond was in
Australia for two semesters. In addition, an undergraduate researcher worked on
a sub-assignment under my project.
I have presented my work in this lab at four conferences:
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Student Research Week, TTU/Howard
Hughes Medical Institute Best and the Brightest: Research Forum, The Texas
Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, and Texas Tech University Undergraduate
Research Conference. Abstracts for this work have been accepted at the Arkansas
Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the 2013 TTU/Howard Hughes
Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Forum.
I was also part of a panel of researchers from TTU for Earth
Day at North Ridge Elementary School. At this event, I delivered a presentation
on Marine Biology and Environmental Sustainability with an emphasis on mantis shrimp
and sharks.
2) Plant Evolution and Ecology Lab
Dr. Dylan Schwilk (Ph.D., Ecology and Evolution, Stanford
University), Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University
October 2012-Present
2a) TTU/Howard Hughes Medical Institute Affiliated Project
(October 2012-Present)
In Dr. Schwilk’s lab, we are pursuing an understanding of tree ecology in the
mountain ranges of Texas. The water transporting vessels (xylem) of trees
become clogged, much like arteries in humans, in a process known as
drought-induced embolism. Although it is impossible for negative pressures to
exist in gaseous systems, this is not the case with liquids. Trees rely on
extreme negative tension to pull water to heights much greater than those
allowed by adhesion, cohesion, or atmospheric pressure. When trees experience
drought conditions, the strength of these tensions increases as the amount of
water available to them decreases. This makes the pressure within the xylem so
low that water starts to boil, and bubbles form within vessels. Once a certain
percentage of the xylem within a branch becomes embolized, it is sacrificed by
the tree. My project examines the point at which branches are sacrificed in
four oak species.
My reasons for joining Dr. Schwilk’s lab are unique.
Normally, TTU/HHMI Scholars work in a single lab due to the expected levels of
involvement. However, in October of 2012, one of my fellow scholars, Chris,
passed away in an automobile accident. Because the TTU/HHMI Scholars are a
tight-knit family, I decided to inherit his project and finish it for him. I
invited every TTU/HHMI Scholar to participate in completing his project to help
us heal as an organization.
My responsibilities in Dr. Schwilk’s lab include writing, modifying,
and developing the protocol for an experiment, training undergraduate
researchers and delegating scientific tasks, participating in expeditions to
the Davis, Guadalupe, and Chisos Mountains, carrying out laboratory experiments,
and recruiting new laboratory members.
I led one trip to Davis Mountains with a single
non-scientist assistant to gather data.
An abstract for this work has been accepted for the 2013
TTU/Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Forum, where I will
present our findings in honor of Chris’s memory.
For simultaneously working full-time in the Diamond and
Schwilk labs, successfully lobbying for Texas Tech University to continue its
support of TTU/HHMI, and organizing and training groups of scholars to
participate in Chris’ project, I received the Dr. Richard L. Blanton Endowment
for Undergraduate Research.
3) Honors Thesis in Physics and Biology
Dr. Micah Green (Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology), Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University
January 2012-Present
3a) Honors Thesis as part of the TTU Honors College
I received approval in January of 2012 to conduct an Honors Thesis outside of
my major on the fine-tuning of four cosmic parameters in phase space. Normally,
students are encouraged to pursue topics related to their undergraduate major when
conducting an Honors Thesis. However, I was allowed to proceed with a physics-based
inquiry, since I had gained competency in physics and cosmology as a result of
personal study.
Over the past hundred years, physicists and cosmologists
have started to notice that if certain fundamental characteristics of our
universe had been anything other than what they are, the evolution of life in
our universe would have been impossible. An example of one of these
characteristics, called “parameters”, is the gravitational constant. If the
force of gravity had been stronger during the big bang, the exploding matter
would have re-condensed into a black hole. Alternatively, if gravity had been
weaker during the big bang, there would not have been enough attraction between
particles for stars to form, resulting in a universe comprised almost entirely
of hydrogen and helium. In either case, the evolution of life in our universe
would have been impossible. The general consensus of the scientific community
at this point is that many parameters are finely tuned, meaning that miniscule
variations in their values would render the universe lifeless.
My Honors Thesis is a review of the current scholarly
conversation on the fine tuning of the universe. My primary insight concerns
the target of fine tuning. Historically, physicists assumed that the universe
needed to be fine-tuned for our form of carbon-based life specifically. As an
evolutionary biologist, I know that this is not the case. A universe only needs
to maintain a stable environment, contain the essential building blocks for
complex molecules, and be expansive enough for origin events to be probable. Once
an origin event takes place, natural selection could cause those collections of
molecules to evolve in any number of directions. Dr. Green and I conclude that
our four target parameters display fine tuning, but to a much lesser degree
than has traditionally been accepted.
Because this project serves as an interdisciplinary link
between biology and physics, I presented my work at GK-12 Building Bridges:
Integrating Math, Science and Engineering on the South Plains. I was also
invited to participate in a panel on trans-disciplinary research at this
conference.
For my work on this project I received the 2013 Honors
College Collaborative Learning Award.
