Dancer07

I would appreciate any corrections. When I was nine years old, my parents sat our family down and told us that our twenty-three year old brother had cancer. Over the next year and a half I learned something that has inspired me throughout my education: health and wellness are not guaranteed. It was this experience that triggered my interest in disease progression and prevention. I attended the University with the intention of pursuing a Doctorate of Physical Therapy because I wanted to help individuals improve their function after injury and the onset of disease. As I began my coursework, I came to the realization that research is my true passion. During my first semester in the Exercise and Sport Science major, I was fortunate to have Dr. J as my professor for Exercise Physiology. It was in his class that I began to reevaluate my plan to become a physical therapist. All the topics covered in this course were based on pertinent research experiments that contributed to our understanding of exercise physiology. I realized that to prevent disease and live healthier lives, we needed to perform research to understand not only the mechanism behind diseases, but how exercise can attenuate the effects of disease progression. A major theme throughout all of my coursework was the use of exercise as medicine, and that to effectively use exercise to prevent or attenuate the effects of disease, both the dose and timing for a given population must be studied. In the summer of 2014, I performed my research practicum in the integrative cardiovascular physiology lab with Dr. J. I helped with the preliminary study looking at the effects of acute exercise bouts on the circulation of angiogenic cell types. I saw the initial process involved in the methodological design, and beginning evaluation of cells present in pre and post exercise bouts. After this experience I decided that research was what I wanted to pursue, and knew it would be useful to gain more experience in a laboratory setting. After graduating, I began working as a laboratory technician at the Center. As a research technician, I am in charge of the rice and switchgrass biofuel research. During my time there, I have learned several molecular techniques such as DNA and RNA extraction for the use of PCR and End point RT-PCR, evaluating genetic sequences, performing tissue culture, and media preparation. A major part of my position is recording results and reporting these findings to the other scientists involved in the Bioenergy Program. My project is in the process of using the CRISPR/Cas9 system to edit the genome of switchgrass to effectively knock out a set of genes involved in the production of lignin. In October of 2015, I presented this information at the Conference. Dr. J's research is what attracted me to the University's Master of Exercise Physiology program. His use of various molecular techniques to evaluate the effect exercise has on gene expression, cell types and, reactive oxygen species is critical to better understand the impact of exercise on human physiology. My interaction with the professors has been any other factors that has lead to my desire to study again at the University. The professors are invested in the student success and ensure that students are excelling academically. The programs access to new technology and the collaboration between departments help to insure the research that is conducted is innovative. My overall academic goal is to obtain a Ph.D.; but by first receiving my masters, I can examine the precise area that I want to focus on. As far as career goals, I want to conduct research and teach at a university.