Why I Want to Study Molecular Biology at Princeton

My planned career goal is to be a problem solving researcher and an academic in the field of Molecular Biology. This is because we do not have many people in this specialty in Nigeria. Even in my former school, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (one of the foremost Universities in Nigeria), there are very few individuals with expertise in Molecular Biology. Interestingly, this program has diverse research areas including the area of Microbiology and Virology especially in understanding how novel antimicrobials can be developed to fight infectious bacteria and viruses. This area totally aligns with my research interest. I am currently on a Masters program on Infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance at the University of Glasgow. In fact, joining the Princeton research community is the perfect next step for me.

During my undergraduate studies, I learnt advanced techniques for solving biomedical problems. In practice, only traditionally available materials/equipment was used. Even when advanced equipment is available, there are very few individuals with the expertise. Therefore, this deficiency propels me towards obtaining advanced research skills in the field of microbiology. Additionally, this program has core facilities for microscopy, flow cytometry, sequencing among many others available at Princeton that I can benefit from to enable me to contribute towards filling this gap in knowledge in my home country. I intend to acquire skills that will enable me to seek answers that will address my research question. Question like how to develop novel antimicrobial therapies to fight infectious microbial strains.

My ultimate career goal is to obtain a doctorate degree in this discipline and be able to make impacts as well as positive contributions in key researches and in human development. I have an untiring passion for research work and it propels me to further develop my expertise in research so that I will be able to pass down the knowledge to the next generation of competent scholars. I plan to engage myself in productive post doctoral research after the PhD program that will lead to the attainment of a professorship cadre in this discipline.

I have engaged in both wet and dry lab research works. My undergraduate research evaluated the “antifungal effect of some spice extracts (Zingiber officinale, Allium sativum and Capsicum annuum) on fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans isolates recovered from clinical samples”. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major public health concerns. Some Candida species now develop resistance to fluconazole, hence, the search for alternatives. In this project, the inhibition zone diameters and minimum inhibitory concentrations of the extracts were determined. The project armed me with the skills of extracting bioactive components from substances using suitable solvents; determine inhibition zone diameters and minimum inhibitory concentration of substances as well as to know how novel super-drugs can be discovered to fight against different resistant microbial strains. This experience prepared me for academia under the supervision of Prof. Nweze Emeka. As a result, I also learned how to prepare a manuscript and this research project was published to my credit in 2019. In order to keep my passion for research ever growing, currently, I co-authored a book chapter on “techniques/technologies and ‘multi-omics’ approaches for studying ecological samples”. This book chapter is in press intended for publication in Springer Nature (2020). As the original draft led and first author in this book chapter, I thoroughly searched for published literatures online, and also wrote without plagiarizing. This research provided me the needed experience on the process of book chapter writing and publishing. I also learned how to e-proof research work after review using Springer Nature e-proofing tools as well as learned how to carry out collaborative research work. This work was supervised by Prof. Nweze Emeka. Additionally, I co-authored (first-author) a review paper on the “epidemiology of Cryptococcus and cryptococcosis in Western Africa” published this year, 2020 in Mycoses. There is no recent review article with a focus on published findings on crytpococcosis in Western Africa. This review paper provided important epidemiological information and recent findings on on this subject. I was the original draft led of this review paper which includes searching for relevant published papers online, and writing. In sum, I experienced publishing in an international journal.

After graduation in 2018, I was mobilized for the mandatory one-year National Youth Service. I worked in the biology laboratory of Sule Lamido University in Nigeria. I served as a Graduate Assistant Intern where I assisted in teaching over 80 students in pre-lab sessions, coordinate practical well as to mark and record the laboratory report of students. I also engaged in significant research works, for example, evaluating the “fungal contamination of some food grains sold in Kafin Hausa market, Jigawa state”. In this capacity, I participated in the isolation of fungi and identification using a typical mycology atlas. The project was supervised by Mr Zakariya Ali Muhammad. This research revealed the risk of mycotoxin contamination in food grains sold in Kafin Hausa market. I successfully presented this work at the proceedings of the 27th National Conference of the Botanical Society of Nigeria in 2019. This research enabled me to learn the process of abstract submission and oral presentation of research finding in a conference. Additionally, I assisted in the research on determining the prevalence of urinary tract infection among pregnant women in Kafin Hausa community. My major role was to assist undergraduate students in sample culturing as well as to review their written research work. Participating in this work helped me to understand the key health events prevalent in this vulnerable population.

In sum, I am very positive that my educational backgrounds, exposure to both dry and wet lab research experiments coupled with my zeal to learn more have given me the background knowledge and intellectual capacity required to do well in this robust PhD program.