I have always been the curious type, and have long asked myself age-old questions such as how life came about? What makes one human? As I grew older I realized these questions were explored in the disciplines of Biology and Chemistry, which seemed to deal with them better than any form of religion or philosophy, hence my desire today to study Biochemistry. This desire has been reinforced by the reading of authors such as Richard Dawkins, Steve Jones, and Nick lane, as well as my little sister’s diabetic condition. I want to know why the islets of Langherhans had ceased to function in her case, and how such diseases are caused. I am also curious about what enables a chemical compound such as DNA to determine the characteristics of our organism? I hope that the scope of subjects studied in this course at your university will prove a strong start to my studies, and enable me to be sure of the direction of my post-graduate studies. My choice of Biology as the reinforced subject in my baccalaureate has confirmed my passion for genetics and cellular and molecular sciences, and has given me the opportunity to study these particular subjects to a higher level. This has led me to want to work in medical research, particularly immunology, and to take great interest in genetics and stem cell research. I understand what studying Biochemistry entails, and the wide range of subjects that overlap within it, and I rejoice at the opportunity to study such a range of fascinating subjects to such a level.
Thanks to the French Science Baccalaureate, I have done a lot of laboratory work in all three sciences, such as observation of how meiosis works, and the study of organic chemistry. In the last 2 years we have been encouraged to devise and answer questions ourselves, so I have developed a good autonomous sense of discovery. The broadness of the OIB programme, which involves studying 11 subjects (including 3 languages)has also helped me acquire good general knowledge and satisfied