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AMCAS Personal Statement
'We eat dog.' 'You what?!' 'Dog. It's a local delicacy.' Culinary habits aside, I was certain I was as much an oddity to South Koreans as they were to me. My blonde, six-foot frame towered over my darker, petite hosts. Despite the cultural differences, common goals for understanding carcinogenesis and improving patient's health overcame language barriers. Being a foreigner was nothing new. My parents, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia, moved from Canada to California when I was six years old. While most of my 7th-grade classmates would have their papers proofread by their parents, I was editing my mother's letters as well as completing my own homework. But my international background also created an awareness of the world beyond my little community, and I dreamed of exploring the East Coast of my adopted country. Armed with an athletic scholarship, I chose to study at the University of Massachusetts for its strong academic reputation and excellent tennis program. From my earliest childhood career ambitions, medicine was always a strong interest. As the tomboy who gathered frogs and lizards, more than one science teacher had labeled me as the class scientist because of my inquisitiveness about the fundamental workings that kept my pets alive and healthy, and the knowledge of what caused them to become sick. When I entered college, I sought to satisfy this curiosity by studying biochemistry. I engaged in research, finding my own answers to questions, sharpening my logical approach to problems and learning to critically analyze the work of others. As my work progressed, I was increasingly interested how research results applied to human health and treatment. I engaged physicians in long discussions that bridged the laboratory and the clinic, and as a result my interest heightened in the application of medicine rather than research alone. However, I did not limit myself to studying biochemistry. Since I have always been curious about people, whom I view to be more complex than a collection of chemical reactions, anthropology seemed like a natural adjunct to my scientific training. Immediately after graduation, I applied my training by joining a research team for a menopause study in Slovenia. As an interviewer/interpreter, I talked with women about their health and the issues of aging. These conversations sometimes extended to invitations for coffee or dinner; most women were eager to speak because people rarely asked about their health or answered their questions frankly. For a moment, I was a part of these women's lives, and I loved the human interaction. However, my role as a biological anthropologist was to observe, to gather data. Though I would relish assisting the people with whom I had such close contact, collecting information and understanding the situation are the first steps towards assistance. My first opportunity to integrate my anthropological and scientific training came with the Fulbright to Singapore and South Korea to study gastric cancer. Although overall incidence rates of gastric cancer are globally decreasing, certain Asian nations remain disproportionately affected by a cancer that is relatively rare in the West. The pertinence of the gastric cancer study to my host countries, combined with availability and ease of access to tissue samples, contributed to my decision to develop gene-expression profiles of gastric tumors. But beyond genetics, gastric cancer has a strong environmental component - epidemiological studies consistently show that consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables correlate with declining Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric cancer rates. As an American living and traveling in Southeast Asia, I saw how globalization and better refrigeration methods have diversified local food consumption, decreased spoilage, and expanded peoples access to a healthier diet. I realized that health is not simply about genetics and medical treatment, but includes social conditions and lifestyle choices. During the SARS crisis in Singapore, I was impressed how my physician colleagues compassionately addressed fears of the public, and placed themselves on the battle line of the epidemic both in research and in the clinic. SARS highlighted the increasing integration of the world, how illnesses in seemingly remote regions can affect people in the United States, and what it means to be a medical professional in an increasingly global society. The study and application of medical science now has a special appeal for me. I am particularly interested in oncology, infectious diseases, and public health, but I believe each persons quest for good health cannot be fragmented. Whether we eat dog or hot dogs, doctors need to combine knowledge of a patient's cultural background and social situation with medical science and compassion to plan truly effective treatments for our afflictions. Health is intimately linked to our quality of life, and a clear need will always exist for dedicated doctors who understand this relationship. I feel that my background has prepared me well for the rigors of medical school, and I am eager to undertake the challenges of modern medicine.
