The majority of students have a misguided understanding of what biochemistry is and why they want to study it. Often, they want to biochemistry at a degree level do so because they have done well in and enjoy both their biology and chemistry classes. I'm not criticizing - I was the same. Naturally, when prospective biochemistry applicants are asked "so why biochemistry, then?" by their peers or family members who aren't so scientifically inclined, they tend to respond with something like "well, its kind of like a mix of biology and chemistry and I like both, so, yeah." Sound familiar? It is therefore very easy to think that biochemistry is a mere fusion of biology and chemistry - metabolism, cell biology and a bit of organic chemistry sprinkled on top. I thought so too at the start of my academic journey towards biochemistry way back in GCSE. How naive of me. I quickly realized that biochemistry is probably best thought of in a completely different way. When viewed from this perspective, it really transforms your outlook on the subject and can really make an impact on how you describe it in your personal statement and during the interview. So, let's cut to the chase - what is biochemistry? I like to think of biochemistry as just one of the ways or 'levels' at which biological systems can be studied. For example, one can study ecology and this would be studying biology at a species, habitat and ecosystem level. Likewise, one can study evolution and this would be studying how species form and change over time. Medicine is the study of the human body, in sickness and in health, at the physiological and anatomical level (think organs and interconnectivity between organs) with a significant focus on how social and environmental factors contribute. Biochemistry, on the other hand, is the study of human and non-human organisms and the molecular and cellular level, and increasingly even an atomic level. This is the crux of the matter - scale. Biochemistry is a very detailed, mechanistic study of what goes on inside the cell: DNA replication and the cell cycle, genetic regulation, signalling transduction pathways, metabolism and its regulation, protein folding and trafficking, the 3D structural determination of proteins. Naturally, biochemists use a broad range of experimental tools: genetic sequencing to understand gene expression regulation and genetic diversity, fluorescent protein tagging and microscopy to understand localization of proteins, radioactive tracing to understand metabolic pathways, genome modification and interference to determine functions of genes, and structural methods like X-ray crystallography or cryo-electron microscopy to produce detailed structures of key drug targets. That is biochemistry. As you can see, it is not really a mix of biology and chemistry. Biology and chemistry are two different worlds. Chemistry is the study of matter, biology is the study of life. Biochemistry is the study of life at a cellular, molecular and atomic level. Starting to make sense? When given the Oxford biochemistry interview question: 'so what do you understand that biochemistry is the study of?', you now know how to respond in an intelligent, original and big-picture way. Which is exactly the things that Oxbridge are looking for.
At Elvis Oxford Admissions and Tutoring, we provide expert Oxbridge biochemistry application support through our founder, Elvi, an Oxford Biochemistry Master's graduate and scientific writer. Get in touch so we can help you develop a personal statement that will maximize your chance of interview, and help you to shine once you get there!
コメント