Study Plan

Self-Introduction

My journey for the love of science began the day I realized that whenever I
somehow cut my finger; my grandmother would ask one of her helpers to find this
grass which she would then crush in her palm and apply it on my wounded area.
That was the day when my curiosity aroused; I wanted to know why a grass would
heal my wound so quickly. Years later now I have come to know it was wheat
grass that she used to apply and science has yet to tell me what is the exact
component secreted by this grass that healed my wounds so quickly. As Ralph
Emerson said Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science this is where
my journey for finding answers to why began. It is and has always been my
incessant aspiration to investigate and contrive the enigmatic ways life on earth
works in the micro-cosmos represented by cells and molecules, thus leading me to
diligently pursue the path of a biologist.

The complex relationship between cells and other biological structures has
intrigued me for years, and drives me to expand my knowledge of the molecules
that create the world around me. Pursuing a field in Biomedical Science will allow
me to produce constructive research while also establishing association with my
co-workers resulting in generating a powerful network of individuals who are all
well connected to expanding findings and information.

Learning, Comprehending and Education has always been my first priority. I was
awarded the Daily Star Awards for my excellent results in my O Levels and with
my consistent diligence I was able to achieve a place for myself in my countrys
top University and got admitted to the Department of Botany, University of Dhaka.
In the following years because of my achievements in my undergraduate years, I
was one of the 23 students who were selected by our University and the Indian
High Commission to meet the President of India, Sri Pranab Mukherjee at
Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi, India. I was also awarded the National Science and
Technology (NST) Fellowship from the Ministry of Science and Technology,
Bangladesh for my research work during my graduate years.
I have come across some of the most grueling subjects during my undergraduate
career, ranging from genetics to biochemistry to microbiology to cytology to
pathology to physiology leading me to appreciate and comprehend the diversity of
biological science. My passion for researching led me to undertake researching
apprenticeship in the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology,
University of Dhaka. While all of the courses in my undergraduate captivated me,
the area that most interested me was genetics, thus I decided to learn more and join
this department. I learnt how to separate out a single gene and prepare the sample
for gel electrophoresis; being able to recover, separate and analyze my DNA was
truly amazing, and opened my eyes to the many applications of modern biology.

My life changed when I started in a project which involved understanding the

function of SPB2 gene in hypothyroid patients of Bangladesh. We were trying to
find the abnormality in this gene which results in hypothyroidism. Joining one
project and learning so many things caused me to stay back and work in another
project where we were trying to understand the interaction of P53-MDM2 gene
using the blood samples of Lung Cancer patients in Bangladesh. P53 is a tumor
repressor; perhaps a suitable answer to preventing abnormal growth of cells but
MDM2 represses P53. I even went ahead to assist in a researching project entitled
Chemical and biological potentialities of the ethyl acetate extracts of Drynaria
quercifolia tuber and leaf where we discovered that the tuber extract of this plant
can inhibit growth of Candida albicans to a large extent while also inhibiting
growth of other species of E. coli.
I have completed my graduation from the department of Botany from one of the
leading universities of Bangladesh in the hopes of pursuing a Ph.D. By enrolling in
a Ph.D. program, I aspire to secure a higher level of education and continue
researching in the molecular bioscience field. I am particularly interested in
pursuing a Ph.D. at Kangwon National University in the Department of Molecular
Bioscience because the university is known for its innovative research and well-
versed staff. Acquiring proper knowledge from skilled professors who are
accomplished in their field will allow me to achieve a legitimate education, one
that I hope to pass down to future generations through research and teaching.
 Study Plan After the Entrance

In the emerging field of system biology, a key objective is to develop different

approaches to systematic engineering of gene expression systems in hopes of
developing new biotechnological and medicinal techniques to help advance our
understanding of fundamental biological processes.
Using structure-guided design and directed protein evolution, I therefore
propose systemic effort of developing synthetic proteases to control gene
expression. This new technique, named as protein interference (protein-i), uses the
interactions between proteins and their corresponding antibodies; thus becoming
highly specific.
Starting from the first generation of synthetic protease that was developed
in the Professor Hwangs (Byung Joon Hwang) laboratory at Kangwon National
University, I propose to develop three different types of synthetic proteases, which
have different advantageous features. First, synthetic E3 ubiquitin ligases that
degrade target proteins by modifying the substrate specificity of the E3 ubiquitin
ligase complexes. Second, synthetic proteases that directly degrade target proteins
without the involvement of ubiquitylation. Third, synthetic E3 ligases or proteases
that could initiate the degradation by chemical treatments. My research also aims
to develop a technique that degrade targets only in specific intracellular
compartments. This organelle-specific, targeted protein degradation will allow us
to investigate the functional difference of localized proteins to different
intracellular locations.
This study involves the development of nanobodies, which are single chain
antibodies known to be small in sized, more stable, and more robust in
performance than conventional antibodies that are complexed with two different
polypeptides. It is important for us to construct antibody libraries that will express
nanobodies on the cell wall of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and to screen the
library to isolate specific nanobodies to target proteins.
I expect this study will allow us to develop several techniques to be used
for understanding molecular mechanisms of cellular processes as well as for
developing nanobodies that could be used for diagnostic and therapeutic
applications.