Christy Gault
Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Program
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You fully understand the project you are
writing about.
Gives you practice talking about scientific
projects, start to finish
Gives you practice identifying a gap in
knowledge and planning a series of
experiments
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Clearly state why you have chosen your area
of research and your graduate program
Set yourself apart, but don’t neglect the
obvious
There’s no such thing as too many
applications for broader impacts
My personal statement:
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The story of the day I chose to switch fields
International collaborations
Inclusion of women
Inclusion of underprivileged in science
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Represented a journey for me to find my
research interests
Paragraph for each research experience
Level of independence grew
Developed skills for working in a group
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Short introduction
◦ SHORT summary of current knowledge
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My research question:
◦ How does the sorbitol dehydrogenase enzyme
affect corn kernel development?
My specific aims:
1. To test if sorbitol dehydrogenase activity triggers
changes in kernel development.
2. To investigate whether sorbitol also acts as a
signal molecule in development.
3. To determine the conservation of the SDH
signaling pathway across several grass species.
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Get diverse perspectives
◦ Professors
◦ Peers
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Allow enough time
◦ For the reviewers to comment
◦ For you to act on their comments