Statement of Purpose

[c-guzman]

Was hoping someone could give my first statement of purpose draft a quick look over. I'll comb for poorly used grammar and spelling at a later date, but I could really use some help with flow and whether this is heading in the right direction. I am willing to exchange SoP reviews as well.

 

 

Quote

Statement of Purpose

    Science today is evolving at an accelerated pace, each significant advancement further improving our understanding of the complex systems involved in nature. The rapid technological developments in next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the last 10 years have revolutionized the arsenal of genomic assays available to scientists, allowing an in depth and genome-wide look at gene expression profiling, structural variation, transcription factor binding, histone modification, and even the discovery of new classes of small RNAs. Still until recently we knew very little about the role that cis-regulatory elements may play in the transcriptional program. Now we are at the dawn of efflorescence in molecular biology, which provides an excellent basis for application of modern biology, biostatistics, biochemistry and computational biology. Investigations into cis-regulatory elements become extremely important, as they provide insight into the complex and constantly evolving model that is a cell’s transcriptional regulatory network.

My interest in the role of cis-regulatory elements in transcriptional regulation and promoter proximal release in the cell has developed during the last year while I have been a research assistant of Microbiology at the UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW). Cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers and their associated non-coding RNAs (eRNAs) play a crucial role in the spatiotemporal expression of genes and are essential in a cell’s development; thus their disruption can lead to disease. Enhancers are normally a few hundred base pairs in length, and composed of clusters of transcription factor binding sites and can be found in several activation states according to their epigenetic chromatin modifications. The structure and, consequently, the function of these enhancers are essential for eliciting the complex expression patterns of developmental genes.

In October 2015 I started my research assistant position under Professor Ivan D’orso in Dallas, Texas. I was originally tasked with the analysis of genomic sequencing datasets such as ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, 4sU-seq, and GRO-seq among others. This work not only deepened my knowledge of modern microbiology, chromatin modification machinery, RNA Pol II mediated transcription, and transcription factor complexes, but also allowed me to explore and develop a fluency in several programming languages such as R and Python. As part of my work I designed, developed, and implemented several sequencing analysis pipelines that allowed our lab to process raw sequencing datasets quickly and efficiently. Several of these pipelines were later adopted by UTSW’s BioHPC group so that scientists with no programming background could successfully analyze their own genomic datasets. During this time I co-authored a manuscript with a Ph.D student that made heavy use of these computational pipelines in the identification of the KAP1-7SK complex (KEC) at promoter proximal regions in the human genome.

In January 2016, I began my own research project in which I identified a large fraction of promoter distal KEC binding sites. Because previous studies by other lab groups had shown that the 7SK snRNA had been identified at enhancers, we hypothesized that these promoter distal KEC sites possibly occupied enhancer regions. Interestingly, I discovered that the KEC functions as a key regulator of early cell development and differentiation, and is also recruited to prime enhancers and their associated genes for activation in response to environmental stimulation. During my work I acquired a broad range of experimental experience in cell culture, and genomic assays including ChIP-seq and RNA-seq. I also learned a substantial amount about enhancer biology, their identification, and their proposed functions in cell development and transcriptional regulation.

Moving toward graduate school, I am interested in continuing my study of enhancers, enhancer RNAs and also the broader field of computational biology. [ University ] is home to several faculty with research interests that match closely with my own. Professor [ 2- 3 professors ] …. [ Their Research ].

Unsurprisingly, my ultimate academic goal is to obtain a Ph.D. A Ph.D from [ University ] would leave me well prepared for any postgraduate endeavors, be they academic or industry. I am currently more interested in staying in academia, as I prefer the experimental freedom of academia that is unparalleled in industry.

    My focus on building strong fundamentals in programming, math, and biology as a research assistant and undergraduate has equipped me with a unique set of abilities to offer [ University ]’s graduate program. I am constantly learning more; whether it be improving my ability to program, or adding new techniques to my wet-lab skills.

Edited August 15, 2016 by c-guzman
spelling

[sjoh197]

To begin with, your whole first paragraph is irrelevant, and contains info that the readers should already know. This is a waste of both space and attention span.

[fuzzylogician]

Agreed with @sjoh197 that the entire first paragraph is irrelevant. I only skimmed the rest. The main comment I have has to do with balance: you can say a whole lot about what you've done in the past, and that's great, but it makes it that much clearer that your future plans are very vague. I don't know what you want to study or why it's important, and I don't see why Awesome U is the place that you should attend. I realize that you left some of those details out, but it's not about what the professors study alone, it's about how it interfaces with what you want to do, and you didn't really say much about that. When the writing is superficial it can feel like flattery, and you want to avoid that. The last paragraph is really nothing but empty words. The second to last reads odd. I would get rid of "unsurprisingly" and make the "currently more interested" more forceful. Everyone understands that your current plans are just that, and that they might change. The SOP should be a forward-looking essay and should have an emphasis on what you will do and why it's important. Make the best case you can right now for why Awesome U is the best place for you to be to study Awesome Topic. 

[sjoh197]

4 minutes ago, fuzzylogician said:

I don't know what you want to study or why it's important, and I don't see why Awesome U is the place that you should attend.

This. Also... with what fuzzy said on balance...You say

At such and such a time I did this and it allowed me to better learn "that". You should tie in how "that" is going to make you more successful in your graduate research pursuits and future career. 

I did this and it allowed me to better learn "that"... and "that" will help me achieve "research goals" in your program. 

 

[c-guzman]

All around excellent advice! Thank you! Looks like I have a complete re-write coming up :). I'll put up the new SoP once I get these manuscript edits out of the way! Thank you!