Personal statement of interest
Aging is a natural process with gradual decrease in vigor, vitality and ultimately leading to death. Imagine adding 20-30 years more to the average life expectancy of humans and promote healthy aging. My interest in aging and age-related diseases first found its root during my undergraduate studies at Aurora's. As part of Biozenith’07, celebrations of 21st century RNA, I presented a paper on 'Aging and Nanobots' and discussed the use of nanobots in age-related diseases such as diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and cardiovascular diseases. I want to know how aging plays a crucial role in these diseases. What are the factors that regulate these diseases? Is it possible to diagnose these diseases early?
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As my masters' progressed, I learned how secondary messenger molecules such as Cyclic AMP, Cyclic GMP, Inositol Triphosphate, Diacylglycerol, and Calcium alter the downstream cellular processes. The conference on Recent Advances in Cardiovascular Sciences and Translational Medicine convinced me that aging and age-related disorders are a consequence of protein signaling networks. I am interested in exploring how molecular and cellular signals, as we age, play a role in cancer and cardiovascular diseases. My masters not only helped me to enhance and share my knowledge, but also get selected for the prestigious Summer Internship at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology …show more content…
Tushar Vaidya, did I receive a fresh impetus for the research. I worked directly with a doctoral student and helped her to know the role of CD40 signaling on the gene involved in the generation of Memory B-cells from naive B-cells on the project 'Cloning and Analysis of the CD40 responsive regulatory regions of the Blimp1 gene of Mouse'. I prepared RPMI media and sub cultured B-Lymphoma cell lines. I learned to design primers for the amplification and cloned 5' upstream flanking region, the promoter, of Blimp1 gene. The obtained constructs were to be introduced into the cell to study expression in response to CD40 treatment.
As my studies progressed, my determination to pursue research had strengthened and I accepted my supervisor's offer to join his lab again as a Dissertation trainee to know the role of Meta1 gene in virulence of Leishmania on the project 'Structure-Function relationship of Meta1 gene in Leishmania'. I prepared different media, carried DNA and RNA isolations, protein induction and purification. I amplified Wild and L58F mutant of Meta1 gene and cloned them into pET expression vector, Induced Protein/ Optimized pET Wild Meta1 and L58F mutant of pET Meta1 and purified
For all teens, the transition into adulthood is generally seen as a challenging and scary process. For teens diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as their caregivers, this transition is often more complicated. The period of transition for individuals with ASD into adulthood is intensely more challenging due to their “unique characteristics, the lack of services that address the special needs of such individuals in adulthood, and the expectations of society for a typical path to adulthood in the face of atypical problems” (Geller and Greenberg, 2009, pg. 93). Without the necessary resources to transition, teens with ASD find themselves unprepared for life at work, in college, or community living. Through this paper, the reader will obtain knowledge in regards to what ASD is, the barriers it yields concerning the transition into adulthood, and the effects it has on the individual as well
Goldman, Bruce. “Scientists Discover Blood Factors That Appear to Cause Aging in Brains of Mice.”
The older person that I interviewed was my great-grandfather, Kay Wilson. He is eighty-three years old and is currently retired, living at home. Wilson was born on February 27, 1934 and raised in Sylacauga, AL by his mother. His father was not active in his life, but his grandparents were his main caretakers growing up.
An interview was arranged with an older adult to discuss issues related to aging. The interview was designed to gain appreciation and understanding of an older adult. One theory of aging came into mind when I thought about this topic. Erik Erikson Life-Course and Personality Development theory, “Erikson described the task of old age as balancing the search for integrity and wholeness with a sense of despair.” NS is the older adult that I conducted the interview with. I’ve decided to pick NS to interview because she is very positive about life and her age. Everything that I have come across about aging is negative such as depression, isolation, and illness.
The older adult interviewed for the purpose of this assignment was Alice Margaret Cox, the interviewers grandmother. Alice was born on February 17th, 1932 in Brown County, Minnesota. Alice was the daughter of Rose Veldman and had three brothers and three sisters. In 1942, Hikel Veldman, after marrying Rose, legally adopted Alice and her six siblings. He brought four children of his own, making a family of 13. After the family was adopted, the majority of their childhood to early adult life was spent living in Hollandale, Minnesota. Alice spent the majority of her life farming and now helps out part time at a family owned thrift store. Alice currently resides in Lake City Minnesota, in her home of twenty plus years. Only four of the eleven
Aging occurs in every species. Over time a change occurs on a cellular level in a person’s body, which causes degenerative effects on the brain, muscles, organs, bones, hormones, and DNA. In 1991, the book Evolutionary Biology of Aging, offered the following definition of aging: a persistent decline in the age-specific fitness components of an organism due to internal physiological deterioration.1 Aging affects the body physically and mentally. Many people dread getting older due to the numerous changes the body goes through. The geriatric population experiences many pains and is inflicted with various diseases. There are a few who are lucky enough to not get diagnosed with a life altering disease, such as Alzheimer’s, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, macular degeneration, or some form of cancer. Studies have shown that genetics play a vital role in the aging process.
The thought of aging is not void of hesitance given it produces questions deprived of answers in the absence of a crystal ball. Subsequently, aging parallels the unknown; thus, faced with uncertainty adopting a positive perspective remains elusive. Although, it’s preferred to view aging optimistically one cannot escape its negative connotations. Will I be an active agent or isolated burden remains a noteworthy unknown that enervates my optimism. Another consideration leading to my vacillating view on aging is, not knowing to what degree personal competencies and capacities will carry forward, thereby affording autonomy in the elder years. However, as research suggest, the aging process transforms healthy adults into frail ones; thus, dashing one’s hope that such traits will endure (Friis, 2010). Incidentally, at age 48, these lingering questions will soon be answered. In the interim, there is an inherent responsibility to prepare physically, psychologically, and financially for entry into the aging population. Ideally, the goal is to
Older adults are a very knowledgeable population and have had a lot of life experiences. As people age, things start to change physically, mentally, and socially. It’s important to understand the process of aging, so that older adults can be taken care of properly. I interviewed P.R. who is a 71-year-old male that lives alone in his home. P.R. is a retired coal miner, and is currently living off his social security and savings. He lives close to both his daughter and son, who frequently help him out with things that are needed. P.R. was able to give me a lot of insight about specific challenges that he has experienced in his life that is associated with aging. I will be discussing challenges that P.R experienced physically, mentally,
When elderly people move into the last of life’s eight stages of psychosocial development, they enter the ego-integrity-versus-despair stage. This process is defined by looking back over someone’s life, evaluating it, then accepting it. People who become successful in this stage feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Erikson refers to this acceptance as integrity. This differs from generativity because one is accepting the end of their life, instead of accepting where their life will start in a sense of career and self. However, if one is to look back on their life with dissatisfaction, they may feel they have been cheated or missed opportunities. Such individuals will mostly be depressed or angry about the way life turned out and
One branch of psychology is known as lifespan psychology, which is the study of the development of humans from birth until death. The study of a person’s lifespan is used to help other people overcome their developmental challenges through learning about how others deal with the various stages of development. According to Robert S. Feldman (2017) “lifespan development examines the way in which people develop physically, intellectually, and socially.” (p. 1) One of the best sources on how to get through a developmental period in life is to ask someone who has already gone through that phase. Therefore, Linda Peevely agreed to answer a few questions about the different stages she has gone through in her 77 years of life.
I began to get fascinated by our capitalist world’s economy at a very early age of my life. Growing up, I was incredibly curious to unravel how systems function, and this curiosity developed into a burning desire to learn how processes and organizations operate and run our world. As I started my first job, I realized how much I needed to be better acquainted with the science of money making and the scientific approaches to money management. Later on in my life, being within a company system, I wanted to see the big picture by learning where such a company stands in the midst of all other business interactions locally and internationally. Being involved in the company’s practices I started analyzing the methods used by my managers, the causes and consequences of their managerial choices.
After having attained a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a Master’s degree in Gerontology, I felt I should gain some first-hand experience in physical therapy and thus volunteered to work as a caregiver in a reputed Evergreen rehabilitation center Ga. However, while working as a caregiver I realized I needed to learn much more in order to provide better care in meeting the psychological and physical caring needs of the elderly. I have always had the inherent desire to serve the elderly in reducing their hardships and providing them with the much needed physical and psychological support so that they can lead a happy and trouble-free life.
Personality is the study of an individual’s unique and relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving over time and across situations and it is what distinguishes one individual from another. In the past changes in personality were thought to have only occurred in the developmental stages of childhood and solidifies in adolescence. After the teenage years it was thought to be set like plaster or the change seen to be inconsequential or absent( Srivastava, John, Gosling, and Potter, 2003). However, recent studies have suggested that changes in personality traits continue to occur throughout an individual’s lifespan due to multiple reasons.
Becoming an adult, also known as young adulthood, is a very crucial stage in one’s life. This is the climax of physical and health processes. This is the point in life when we make plans of our futures. It is the time when we think of what life will be like as an adult and make plans for the future. Most importantly, it is when we lay the starting point for developmental changes that we will undergo throughout our lives. An adult is a person who is fully grown or developed. Some people believe that you become an adult when you are 18 years old, other believe you are an adult when you can legally buy and consume alcohol, that is, at age 21 in the United States. Others believe that you are an adult when you are supporting yourself
According to Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren in Art History some artists of the Hellenistic period portrayed the world as they saw it, by representing people from every level of society. (Stokstad and Cothren, 2014). An example is a sculpture which is referred to as “the old woman”, produced by an unknown artist. This sculpture is not from Greek myth but instead is a portrayal of an elderly woman of the era. The marble statue of an old woman was originated in the late second century BC and is a perfect depiction of daily life in ancient Greece due to the beauty of its intricate detail and the artists portrayal of a member of society.