美国面签 申请生物信息学博士学位 - 个人研究经历介绍

My major for PhD degree is computational biology and bioinformatics. My research interests are in using statistical and computer science methods to study human genetics and gene expression regulation processes.

I majored in mathematics-statistics as an undergraduate and gradually developed a deep interest in the interdisciplinary field of biology and statistics or computer science. Then I majored in biostatistics for my master’s degree. It was there at UW that I really got a deeper understanding of the field of biostatistics. Most department faculty are doing very theoretical research, less about biomedical questions and more about developing new statistical methods. I figured that I’m more excited about research focusing on the application and dealing with real-life data.

After actively seeking research in human genetics and computer science, I found my true interest in computational biology and applied for this major for my PhD degree. I enjoyed my past research in human genetics, where we collected gene mutation information from certain cohorts’ patients to study the relationship between mutation and disease. I also enjoyed studying new gene knowledge to understand the regulation process.

Given my past research experience, I’m still pretty new to the field of bioinformatics and am, therefore, open to exploring more in this field. That’s also why I like the USC QCB program so much — it has many faculty from different backgrounds doing different research. The department also allows us to do rotations for the first year so that we don’t have to rush into a decision of advisor or a research topic.