Trustee Research Scholarship: My Academic Interests and Studies

Dear fellowship selection committee,

I am a third year student from BITS PILANI, Pilani Campus writing to apply for ThinkSwiss Trustee research scholarship. If selected, I will be working with Professor Siegfried from University of Bern on uncoupling of invasive bacterial mucosal immunogenicity from pathogenicity. Pathogens are continuously evolving to circumvent the treatments that we rely on. There are still many different types of illnesses that modern medicine is yet to encounter. The need for more research and information in terms of disease research is what made me interested in Pathology. The project I will be working on involves

Checking for in-situ distribution (mixed or differentially distributed) of a mixture of Virulence factor competent and in-competent auxotrophic mutants of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (sTmAux) and looking for its effects on various pathogenic activities. Comparing normal sTmAux strain with two different mutant strains and looking for innate immunity mediated host response using various techniques.

This internship in infectious disease will allow me to further expand my knowledge base in pathology giving me the opportunity to participate in a bench research opportunity that will heighten my understanding of the molecular mechanisms of disease. It is my hope to become a researcher in the future, and this internship opportunity will allow me to gain valuable experience in proposing scientific hypotheses as well as performing techniques. I am confident that the skills I gain from this infectious disease internship will enable me to become a capable pathology researcher contributing to the overall knowledge base of disease and well being of humans. Why I need a scholarship? ThinkSwiss research scholarship will allow me to be a part of a pathology based research group and work for my hopes of being an excellent researcher and a benefactor of the human race.

I am one of the many students who get interested and excited about things, regardless of social norms or arbitrary measures for success and work for something really big to contribute for the society. When it comes to research internships, many students like me think themselves ineligible for the scholarship. This reduces the size of student group the scholarship program is meant to target on. I as a SwissNex scholar will be an example for all such students which will motivate them to apply for the scholarship to eventually work for their hopes of being a researcher and making this society a better place to live in. This will increase the size of the target group of the scholarship program which is the job an ambassador is meant to perform. Thank you for your attention! hope I could explain whu I need this ThinkSwiss research scholarship.