I hope to apply to Zhejiang University School of Medicine because I dream to not only become a doctor, but also to preserve my Asian culture and traditions and give back to the Chinese community as an Asian American. Therefore, I greatly appreciate its School of Medicine for its extensive medical education and its emphasis on experiencing Chinese culture.

Its School of Medicine contains abundant medical resources and real-life application opportunities for me to integrate new knowledge and gain actual work experience. Its comprehensive curriculum will allow me to acquire a variety of medical knowledge from medical genetics to Emergency medicine, allowing me to tackle any kind of diseases. Furthermore, its Faculty of Medicine has 6 Grade III Class A affiliated hospitals that serve as centers of clinical teaching faculties. Being able to utilize the resources in these internationally standardized medical centers to practice and hone my skills will definitely allow me to gain the knowledge and experience to give back to the society. Moreover, in its Faculty of Medicine, I will be able to study under renowned Professors such as Professor Zheng shu-sen, who is a famous surgical specialist in organ transplantation and has completed more than 800 cases of liver transplantation. As my uncle passed away from cancer at an early age, I have always felt the strong desire to become someone with the surgical skills and medical knowledge to grant other people a second chance at life.

Finally, as an Asian American rooted in the traditions of Chinese culture and values, I have always held dear my Asian identity and the important Chinese customs I have learned since I was small. I hope to continue to preserve and explore my Asian identity at Zhejiang University School of Medicine and take part in its many activities such as its Chinese song competitions to better understand and experience new Chinese cultures.

I hope to study medicine at Zhejiang University because the realm of biology has long been my stronghold for curiosity and growth, a special realm where I can explore at the frontier of human health. When I was small, I attended a medical summer camp hosted by Taipei Medical University to learn about topics ranging from pharmacology to gross anatomy. We followed and observed doctors perform MRI scans, toured and learned about surgery rooms and surgical procedures, and witnessed the dissection of a mouse. This camp provided me with valuable knowledge and firsthand experience in medical procedures that doctors perform.

My profound interest in biology made me delve deeper into molecular biology when I interned at National Taiwan University, School of Medicine, Graduate Institute of Molecular Medicine. During the internship, I studied neuronal development and dendrite pruning under Dr. Hsiu-Hsiang Lee, an assistant professor. Through our research, we identified a new protein that takes part in neuronal pruning. Through constant experimentation, we found that the Rab11 proteins take part extensively in dendrite pruning in C4DA neurons within Drosophila. In addition, part of my project was to analyze neurons under a confocal microscope to quantify their protein intensity. This was an invaluable experience for me because it was my first time seeing an actual living neuron. I can still remember the fascination of seeing the dendritic branching and axons and feeling inspired to pursue biology zealously. These inspirations are also often combined with remarkable experiences such as learning how to dissect Drosophila flies under microscopes or taking live imaging scans with a confocal microscope. These experiences have allowed me to develop the precision and patience needed to conduct scientific experiments. More importantly, I have learned to collaborate with my fellow laboratory researchers and PhD students, and develop strong bonds to form an effective team. My research paper on neuronal pruning has allowed me to win the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2017 Scholar award in the Regeneron (Intel) Science Talent Search Competition, which is a pre-university science competition, and I was one of the three fortunate winners in Asia. These invaluable lessons and skills that I have acquired will positively propel me forward to becoming an outstanding doctor.

Therefore, as my love for biology and my curiosity for the human body constantly propels me to study medicine, I hope to attend Zhejiang University School of Medicine because not only does it possess abundant educational resources and facilities, but it also emphasizes the importance of having ethical and moral values as a doctor. I believe that with this education, I will be able to become a successful doctor that can give back to the society around me.