Starting from a small university ranked 237th globally, Thuy Tien became a doctoral student at a top university in the world.
Passionate about scientific research in the biomedical field, Vo Pham Thuy Tien (born in 1998) intends to apply directly to a doctoral program after graduating from university (without a master’s degree), in order to save time and money. finance.
The difficult problem for Tien is that applying to low-ranking schools will not have enough conditions and resources for research. Meanwhile, in the US, “ranking” (upgrading – moving from a low-ranking school to a high-ranking school) is not easy for anyone. The school Tien is studying is very far from the top 100.
Iowa State University, which offers bachelor’s degrees, is currently ranked 237th in the list of Best Universities in the World, according to US News & World Report.
When preparing to study abroad in the US, Hanoi female students constantly had health problems, so the application results were not as expected. “At that time, Iowa State was the best choice I had,” Tien said.
Iowa State School grants her part of the scholarship, the rest of the amount is suitable for the family’s ability to pay; moreover, the standard of living in town is cheaper, which saves her from financial pressure. Tien managed by herself by working part-time at the school (tutor, teaching assistant, dormitory manager…).
Tien’s motivation to enter the top school comes from the fact that in order to study methodically, she has to go to a place with leading modern laboratories and facilities. Determining this, Tien made great efforts to upgrade his doctoral application.
Vo Pham Thuy Tien, PhD student at the University of California, San Diego, USA. Image: Characters provided
On the one hand, Tien completed the school program well, on the other hand, she was constantly preparing for the “leap”. Tien is on Dean’s List (the list of the highest achieving students) of all semesters (GPA > 3.5); won the International Intensive Scholarship from the student office for three consecutive terms. The Vietnamese girl is a typical graduate of the Faculty and is represented by the university’s laboratory to report at the Scientific Conference in 2021.
In addition, to win a PhD scholarship, applicants must have extensive research experience. All summer term, Thuy Tien always looks for and does not miss any internship opportunities at prestigious cancer research institutes, large and highly competitive laboratories.
In 2019, Tien joined Dr. Jie Wu’s laboratory at Stepheson Cancer Center, Oklahoma. In 2020, she joined an internship organized by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – a major cancer research institute in the world.
Constantly pushing herself to rise, Tien also participates in many research projects at the university to gain experience. She actively finds a mentor (instructor), learns from experience, asks for advice, and comments on records.
Studying in a small environment, professionalism is not high, so participating in many large laboratories in a professional environment helps Tien assert herself.
For two years, Thuy Tien only slept 4-5 hours a day. The time to apply for the doctoral program was also the peak of the Covid-19 epidemic in the US, Tien had to self-isolate at home. On this occasion, there are many policies that change continuously every day from the government, which are detrimental to international students, making Vietnamese girls constantly insecure.
Overcoming everything, at the end of 2021, Thuy Tien received an invitation to study a doctorate from 9 universities. Coming from the school ranked 237th globally, Tien became a PhD student at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) – Top 21 in the list of the best universities in the world in 2022 (according to the list of the best universities in the world in 2022 (according to the list of best universities in the world in 2022). US News & World Report).
Tien continues to pursue a major in Biology. She is particularly interested in human diseases, which manifest at the molecular and cellular levels.
“The results exceeded my expectations”, Tien said, “modern research environment, spacious facilities, professional research process, many cooperation relationships”. At the new school, Tien is able to meet and work directly with very famous people in the industry.
In particular, professor – doctor Silvio Gutkind in Tien’s laboratory is the one who has the strength to mobilize funding. The projects Tien does are usually quite expensive, but she does not have to worry about financial problems. Tien said that it was the great luck of a PhD student.
Professor Susan Ackerman at the University of California, San Diego assessed: “Vo Pham Thuy Tien is a very dedicated doctoral student. Technically, she is very good, quick to learn and has an open spirit of cooperation. open at work”.
Thuy Tien hopes in the future to have research works that can be brought out of the laboratory, creating a premise for application in cancer treatment in practice.
Le Thu
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
