During four undergraduate years, I equipped myself with a broad range of subjects related to pharmaceutical sciences and honed my lab skills in several areas, such as Pharmacokinetics, Drug Delivery, and Bioanalysis. With an overall GPA of 92.2 (on a 0-100 scale), I have won the most prestigious scholarships and awards every year in BMU, always ranking top 2% in my department.

The rich research experience I got in BMU provided me rigorous training in pharmaceutics and strengthened my interest in it. When I practiced in the group of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring at Tiantan Hospital, I mainly used Fluoresce Polarization Immunoassay to monitor the blood concentration of drugs for which concentration control is essential, such as Digitoxin and Lidocaine. This work ensured me how important pharmacokinetics is in effective thcrapy. In 1998, I began my diploma thesis work on Liposomal Amphotericin B (LAMB). My task was to incorporate Amphotericin B in small liposome to increase its efficacy and decrease the serious toxicity and side effects. After a half year of creative and diligent work, I successfully established a new technique of producing stable and effective LAmB and thoroughly studied its physical properties, efficacy, toxicity and pharmacokinetics.

I hold a belief that a drug is successfully developed only after it is made economically affordable, which demands pharmaceutical researchers have a good understanding of engineering as well as science. Therefore, I joined the graduate program of Biochemical Engineering at Tsinghua University (THU, the top engineering school in China) after graduation.

At THU, I attended two Key Projects of the Ninth Five-year National Program, both as a major researcher. One is the pilot plant test of producing poly-B-hydroxybutyrate (PHB, a kind of biodegradable plastic) by biofermentation, in which we successfully scaled up the fermentation of Alcaligenes eutrophus to yield PHB according to laboratory results. Another project is "I,argescale Culture of Hybridoma Cell to Produce Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibody," on which my graduate thesis focuses. By now, I have done work in several aspects: 1) the effect of traditional herbals on C50 growth, 2) serum-free medium design and 3) the metabolism of glutamin. The third one is my main interest because our final goal is to achieve high cell density and high product concentration in large-scale culture, which necessitates a fed-batch strategy and glutamine is the key nutriment ensuring the success of such a strategy. My research has progressed smoothly recently and I plan to optimize the condition of a large-scale culture in a 5-1itre fermentor in the following days. Experience in such projects dramatically improved my computer, mathematics and engineering skills, which undoubtedly will contribute to my future research.

Life at THU is a precious opportunity for me, more than research. The challenging and successful catching-up process in graduate study (due to deficiency in undergraduate engineering background) proves my capability again and gives me confidence to confront various difficulties in my future research. And communication with intelligent people from different backgrounds gready refreshes my mind.

Pharmacy is such a dynamic area that responding to the changing needs of society presents an exciting challenge to pharmacists. To be well equipped for such an obligation, I want to pursue more advanced training in this important field. The University of Tennessee is world known for its leading research in pharmaceutical sciences, therefore a perfect choice for me. Your broad research interests, established faculty and state-of-the-art facilities will provide me an unparalleled opportunity for my intellectual advancement. I believe my enthusiasm in pharmaceutics, independent research capability and strong and diverse background will pave the way for me to study at your university and contribute to your graduate program. I also believe that I will be a cooperative member once I am admitted to your group. My intended research fields include Pharmacokinetics & Biopharmaceutics, Pharmacodynamics Drug Delivery.

I plan to return to China after completing my Ph.D. program. It is likely that I will seek employment at a top university or institute. However, I do not want to be confined exclusively to academic work. I wish to become an important research fellow who has a great influence on the industry, too.