STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

I grew up in a town that is known for building diesel and electric locomotives in India. As a
kid, I woke up early in the morning sharp energetic sound from new locomotives leaving the
workshop and appreciated George Stephenson’s discovery. On certain days, my father
would take me to show assembly line in the manufacturing plant, high coordinated
operations and different chemical reactions transforming multiple metal pieces always
mesmerized me. My favorite machine was PAMA SpA, a CNC machine, as just by changing
the little coding, the machine is ready to perform multidimensional functions. I was always
enthralled by a combination of two different technologies and enthusiastic to search for
innovations in the combination of two fields. While living in a highly intellectual community,
I constantly competed with highly talented kids in my school from our neighborhood. From
my school times, I was an ardent learner and was among the top students of my school in
the science group. I was more interested in chemistry and biology. I wondered when for the
first time came to know about DNA that how could only the two strands are responsible for
unique characters of every individual and if we could modify these codes then it would bring
giant genetic variations. I decided to pursue engineering after school, the pre-eminent way
of learning technology and scientific concepts.
With firm determination and diligent endeavors, I competed among all the high school
students in India to secure a seat with scholarship in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of
Technology. I was amongst the top 3% of students in India and had an opportunity to pursue
any subject of my choice, and I picked Biotechnology. I was always excited at the
microscopic level and wanted to explore the subject where integration of technology can be
done in the field of biology and chemistry. With this firm belief, I opted Bachelors of
technology in Biotechnology. It was my dream aspiration as I was the first women in my
family to opt for science and technology
In those four years, I explore my new subjects and learn from basic fundamental to high-
level skills. During my days of under-graduation, my interest inclined more towards the
subjects like bioinformatics, cell and molecular biology, bio-modeling process and
simulation, enzyme technology, biochemistry, bio-sensors, biopharmaceuticals, and protein
engineering and immunology. I learned the fundamental cellular mechanism along with
different scientific approaches from MATLAB bioinformatics and simulation of fermenters to
the blotting techniques and spectrophotometric estimation of DNA, RNA, proteins. I feel
that cell is the most complex machine in the world that is constantly running and has inbuilt
repair mechanism undergoing multiple reactions. I believe that understanding the micro
level of cellular mechanism is vital so that the innovation in the technology can be done.
During my bachelor, I completed a project on analysis of Cdk2 using R. This was the first
time I learned about R and its scope. There was no one in the college to teach this but I
prepared myself by taking courses on Coursera, an open learning platform by MIT. I
developed codes that would read the data, add syntax notes, compare its sequence with
others, calculate and plot CG Content and GC skew, perform multiple alignments, short read
alignments, find transcription factor binding sites, using boxplots and share this data with
others for continuous research.
My internship at Ranbaxy Laboratory (now acquired by Sun Pharma) was a transition point
in my life. I developed expertise in quality control and stability of various dosage form. I
worked on evaluating samples with very little (ng) amount of bromocriptine, an
antiparkinson agent, indicated for postoperative and cancer pain. I carried out experiments
that would qualitatively determine the concentration in different samples using High-
performance liquid chromatography. In a single day, I used to perform two HPLC
experiments using the standard protocol for the detection, spending 8 hours of a day in
experimentation and validation only
In the microbiology department, I carried out various experiments for microbial sample
collection, transport, neutralization, incubation and analysis of microorganisms. I performed
several tests to measure growth, sterility of equipment, detect microbial limits and
bioburden and bacterial endotoxins tests.
After my graduation, some personal circumstances make it necessary for me to work, then I
take the best from the situation and opt to teach as a profession. I got the opportunity to
teach physical, organic and inorganic chemistry to the students preparing for highly
competitive exams. Working as an associate lecturer, I have expertise in many complex
organic reactions particularly catalytic reductions, aromatic substitutions, electrophilic
substitutions, organometallic chemistry etc. For the last three years, I have lived in three
different states of India, work 72 hours a week and have coached nearly 2000 students. My
score in GRE does not truly reflect my potential as I had very little time to prepare for the
exam due to my extremely busy work schedule. I think my teaching experience has given me
a strong foundation to succeed in graduate school. I really want to pursue higher studies to
enhance my own knowledge and develop my skills in chemistry. I believe that Ph.D. will
provide me an opportunity to explore and learn new technology at the same time spreading
knowledge in society.
My goal during graduate school is to do cutting-edge research, learning new techniques and
publish high-impact papers in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular biology. I think that
these will be extremely valuable in fulfilling my dreams of finding a teaching/research
position in a university after the completion of my graduate studies.
I learned about the Ph.D. Programme at Iowa State University. I feel it will give me great
exposure in the field of biochemistry and molecular mechanism. I have gone through the
profile of Dr. Nelson and learned about his research in investigating enzymes responsible for
replicating the apicoplast genome in Plasmodia falciparum, the most prevalent causative
agent of Malaria. I think I will be able to follow my dreams as well as carry out all the
responsibilities that students are expected to perform at Iowa State University and maintain
the standard of this prestigious institute in the global perspective.