Participating in Project Oceanology – Education Article
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by biology and the living sciences. When I was in 8th grade, I participated in Project Oceanology. Twice a week for several weeks, an after school activity group went to the Project O lab in Groton and

would do experiments with water sampling, aquatic life, and marsh ecology. One is not usually conscientious of ecological life on the beach when tanning during the summer, but I found it fascinating to look at all the different plants and animals, how they interacted, and how our human presence on the beach is destroying their environment.
In high school, I have been taking honors biology, the prerequisite of AP Biology. The class is immensely challenging because unlike many science classes, my teacher focuses on analytical skills instead of rote memorization. For example, the tests require stringent analysis of biological concepts. We need to debate and explain, for example, which is more energy efficient: eating meat or eating plants? In discussing things like DNA replication, we look at how viruses and genetic disorders elude scientists and white blood cells alike and discuss things such as the moral and scientific implications of gene therapy.
II. Thesis
For these reasons and interests, I have decided that I would like to be a medical researcher when I grow up. I want to keep working with biology and be able to apply those skills to the advancement of our species. Having grown up in SECT, I have a profound respect for Pfizer’s, not only as an institution of medical research but as a participant in the community. They demonstrate a greater responsibility to making the community a better place by things like offer scholarships and always participating in things like Hospice Walks and so forth. In order to be a successful medical researcher at Pfizer’s, I will need to get a college degree in biology, gain experience in the field, and find a cure for a disease.
III. Sources
Some resources that I relied on were my biology class, the Pfizer website, the Boston University website, and an interview with a Pfizer employee.
IV. Findings
One of the first steps to attaining this goal is to get a college degree. Yet before I even matriculate, there are several things that I can do during my high school years to better prepare myself for college entrance. I need to do well with my current biology class so as to prepare myself for AP Bio. Most universities like to see a 4 or 5 on the AP exam, and so I am going to set this achievement as a goal for myself for next year. I can also participate in biology-related extra-curricular activities to enhance my college application. For example, I enjoyed Project O so much as a middle schooler that I would like to return and volunteer as a group leader.
From here, I will need to look ahead to college. My searches have revealed promising science programs at Tufts and Boston University, both in Boston. They are renown for their programs and likewise are located in my favorite city. I will need to do well in school as well as have strong SAT scores in order to be admitted to these highly competitive schools. The BU Biostatistics website describes the intent of my ideal program as teach[ing] students the proper conduct of research studies through rigorous study design and appropriate descriptive and analytic methods that enable valid, interpretable conclusions to be drawn. (Boston University School of Public Health)
Another objective that I will need to meet is to gain experience in medical research. I can do this in a number of ways, and hope to have a diverse experience to strengthen my credentials. While in college, I can intern within my school, either working as a teaching assistant or a research assistant. The former is helping a professor instruct a class (most likely biology), while the latter is assisting the professor conduct his or her own research in the medical field.
From here, I hope to land a job at Pfizer’s. I will most likely start at the bottom of the ladder as an assistant to someone, but with time and by proving myself dependable and worthy, I will be assigned my own projects to research. According to my interviewee at Pfizer’s, research projects can often take several years at a time, so it is necessary that I do not become impatient or hasty to achieve answers, nor discouraged by the significant investment of time. Likewise, I may also have to multi-task as some researchers work on multiple projects at once. I will have many research opportunities available to me as, “Pfizer's search for new treatments spans hundreds of research projects across 18 therapeutic areas - more than any other company” (Pfizer Global Research and Development).
All of this sounds great and dandy, working my dream job and earning enough money to buy a Mercedes. Yet I will not consider my goal to have been met until I have ultimately applied my goal to its objective: to find a cure for something. While I will be satisfied with anything such as better medicines, I hope to be apart of a team that finds a cure for something like AIDS or cancer. As cliché as it sounds, these two diseases have been decimating our species and are still just as prominent and serious issues as they have ever been. I am frustrated at how a cure has not been found yet for either of these diseases. However, I do not believe this is due to inadequacies in the researchers, for top scholars across the world have been working in these fields for years. I believe the evasiveness of these diseases comes in their nature – that in a Darwinisitc perspective, that these diseases continue to evade mankind’s remedy because they are stronger than we are. I hope to be a contributing member to the medical scientists that are striving for cures to ameliorate our civilization.
V. Conclusion
As I have been working on this paper, I have also been taking chemistry this year, and I am astonished as to how different this subject is as well as my interests are to biology. Moles of this and joules of that, it just doesn’t interest me. Matter of fact, I despise chemistry with all of the fiery passions of hell. This has been a painful realization for me because, obviously, medical researchers work with chemical structures, interactions, and catalyst. I am afraid that if I do not like chemistry that I will not be an effective biological medical researcher. Now at the end of this research process, I have decided to put this dream on the back burner and to begin a new search to pursue something else.
Bibliography
Berk, Laura. Child Development. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1997.
“Boston University: School of Public Health.” [Online] Available at
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Departments/HomeMain.asp?DepartmentID=358,
11 May 2004.
Doe, John. Personal interview. 11 May 2004.
“Pfizer Global Research and Development.” [Online] Available at
http://pfizer.com/help/index.html, 11 May 2004.