Venturing into the unknown and endless world of science and medicine has been a passion and a desire of mine for most of my life. To me, science is an educated leap of faith to unknown. New research and understanding enhance our knowledge of the human body everyday. I’m intrigued by how a simple idea can be transformed into a reality that can open the way for new cures and more advanced anatomical understanding.
Ever since my school life science has been a fascination to me. Wondering, how did life arise and how it works. When I studied about Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, their discoveries and research in the field of biology intensified my interest in biology. At the school level though exposed to major concept of biology, the terms like cell, tissues, genes, and especially microbes intrigued me a lot. The unique properties of microbes like rapid proliferation rate, disease causation, antibiotic resistance, fermentation, decomposition, competitiveness and their persistence made me choose microbiology as a major course for my bachelor’s degree at University of Peshawar, Pakistan.
I was very successful in my chosen field of graduation, being exposed to many field of study like general microbiology, genetics, biochemistry, immunology, medical microbiology and virology etc gave me insight into the infectious world of germs and microbes, the biology behind diseases and how our body fight against those infections. Besides that I learned the physiology of different microbes and their importance in medical and industrial field. I also got practical knowledge of techniques in the field of microbiology and genetics in my laboratory classes. Presentations on different topics in the class were best source of learning and I always took an active role in giving presentations, the best presentation, which I delivered, was on “Targeting antibiotic resistance mechanisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis”. I also organized, managed and coordinated different inter departmental events, which helped me to develop leadership and communication skills and was always interested to participate in all the departmental activities. Apart from this I also participated in different seminars, presentation competitions, awareness program and other events, which held outside our university, the presentation competition on Ebola virus and Zika virus at Bannu Medical College, Bannu, Pakistan helped me to improve my presentation skills, knowledge delivering and confidence, apart from that I also gained a handful information about the transmission and prevention of Ebola haemorrhagic fever and Zika fever. In October 2015 I went to Breast Cancer Awareness Program at Khyber Girls Medical College Peshawar, Pakistan, which enhanced my understanding about breast caner and its early diagnosis and treatment. During my graduation I worked on a small project, which empower my practical skills in laboratory. The project was “Isolation and characterization of Agrobacterium tumefaciens”, which includes isolation and identification of A tumefaciens through different biochemical and physiological test. A tumefaciens has great importance in antitumor studies and in different microbiological research uses.
Medical Microbiology is another area that fascinates me and I believe that it is not just a tool that benefits an individual, but also the entire community and society at large. It is the correlation between microbiology and clinical practice and the knowledge behind spread of microorganisms, disease causation, diagnosis and treatment of pathogens. Surprisingly there are many different disease and conditions that can affect human body and a lot of different diagnostic tests, which can be carried out to find the actual cause and treatment of a specific disease. I have read a lot about the recent researches in the field of Biomedical Science, which stimulated my interest in this field. The recent technologies and research is enhancing the diagnostic procedures, also providing the way to advanced and safe treatment and prevention methods. For instance recently the research team in university of Sheffield has discovered a total of 788 biomarkers that can tell medical professionals different things about cancer, such as whether a patient is at risk of the disease, if they are clear and exactly what type of cancer they have. Another example is the new finding of the researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, they have developed a new genetic test that is able to determine which drugs will be most effective to tackle ovarian tumors, allowing more patients to access the best possible treatment for their individual needs. Advancements like these in the field of biomedical science fuelled my urge to study biomedical science at higher level.
Aside from my academic studies To grasp a practical understanding of what practicing Biomedical science involves, I started working at a clinical laboratory at Buner Medical and Surgical Center after my graduation, which exposed me to a high volume, low error workplace and a real practical environment helping me in not just improving my practical skills but also my multitasking abilities, teamwork and communication skills. Working in that environment gave me a great sense of accomplishment and constant improvement.
I am a firm believer of the fact that if one has to do something, one should rather do it well. The UK education system being highly renowned all over the world was the obvious choice for pursuing a Biomedical Science degree. I choose Middlesex University London because being in the top clan of best universities in the world and in top five universities for Bioscience in England the institute speaks for the highly renowned UK education system. The vast range of amenities offered, the highly equipped Microbiology and Molecular Biology labs, the highly experienced faculty and the close proximity to London attracted me to this University. Studying my Master degree at Middlesex University will develop me not just academically but also personally and professionally. Through experience I have realized how extremely important it is to expose oneself to people from different cultures, backgrounds, countries etc. The best teams are formed of people who share high proficiencies in their respective skills as opposed to people share the same culture or color. UK is the perfect place to get this sort of exposure as it attracts students from all over the world. And, without a doubt the historic magnificence of the place and the exposure to art and theatre would add tremendously to my personal growth.
In conclusion the field of biomedical science is a leap that I choose. I am keen to pursue a career that would allow me to have a direct and positive role at the very forefront of improving the health of others.
