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Hi, my name is Alasdair Taylor

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and I am applying for the biomedical science 
graduate program at Texas A&M.

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My interest in a PhD began when, as a part 
of my bachelor’s degree at the university 
of Surrey

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I had the opportunity to take a year out 
of my studies to obtain relevant work experience.

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I was fortunate enough to be offered a place 
in the veterinary pathobiology department 
at Texas A&M

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studying Angelman syndrome and genetic imprinting 
in the Dindot lab

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Although I had to fly home early due to the 
current pandemic

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I was able to spend 8 months at A&M

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Honestly, it was intimidating at first

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I understood the science, but the work was 
completely new to me

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I was 5000 miles from home

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I had never been somewhere so big or so unbelievably 
hot!

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Despite this, Texas A&M quickly began to 
feel like home

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Being surrounded by passionate staff, excellent 
facilities

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and developing my own enthusiasm for the 
work we did there

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made me certain that this was the best place 
for me to pursue a PhD

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and somewhere that I could make a real difference

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A good portion of my time at work was spent 
in the lab

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I collected mouse samples and used them to 
extract DNA, RNA and protein

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this was daunting at first but with the help 
of my colleagues

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and a lot of practice

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I soon began conducting PCR, qRT-PCR and 
Western blotting independently

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I was also involved in projects that included 
computational data analysis

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neuronal imaging and the characterisation 
of a novel large animal model

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of Angelman syndrome

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The latter project was at times very physically 
demanding

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but I enjoyed getting my hands dirty with 
research like this

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Almost as much as I enjoyed having a shower 
afterwards

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I even got to design, conduct and analyse

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my own behavioural assay of the large animal 
model

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based on previous studies done in mice

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Being part of the Dindot lab and conducting 
genuinely impactful research like this

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really inspired me to pursue a PhD

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Knowing that I was playing my own small part,

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not only in the furthering of scientific 
understanding,

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but also in helping those with Angelman syndrome

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motivated me beyond anything else to keep 
working hard in the lab

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and has continued to be my motivation for 
applying to the graduate program

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With almost a year of training and a keen 
familiarity

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with the high standards expected of both 
staff and students there

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I am certain that Texas A&M is the right 
place for me

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My goal is to continue developing the foundational 
knowledge and skills that I gained there

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and progress on to a career in biomedical 
research

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I know that almost every candidate will have 
similar career aspirations

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and humanitarian motivations as my own

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But I believe that my previous experience 
of working full time in research at A&M

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my strong work ethic and the determination 
to succeed that I have demonstrated throughout 
my bachelors

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my internship and my volunteer work with 
St John’s Ambulance

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really sets me apart and makes me an excellent 
candidate for the programme

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Thank you for your time and consideration.