Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry [BSc/MSci] personal statement example

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

When I set up my first aquarium, the nitrite test kit turned the water sample pink, and I wanted to know why rather than just match it against the chart. I learned that the kit relies on the Griess reaction, where nitrite helps form an azo dye whose colour deepens with concentration. That a molecule could be designed to report on a substance in water made me curious about how chemists design molecules to act on the body. Reading The Drug Hunters by Donald Kirsch and Ogi Ogas showed me how often drug discovery has involved screening large numbers of compounds, and how medicinal chemistry tries to make that process more rational. I want to study chemistry with a medicinal focus because I enjoy the core subject for its own sake, especially organic mechanisms, and I want to understand how structure, shape and reactivity determine whether a compound can become a useful medicine.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare?

A-level Chemistry has given me the foundations I enjoy most. Synthesising aspirin in a required practical, then recrystallising it and checking the melting point, showed me that the product is only half the work and proving its purity is the other half. My melting range was broad on the first attempt, and comparing it with the literature value helped me see what the impurity was likely to be. While studying optical isomerism I read about ibuprofen, which is sold as a mixture of enantiomers although the S form is mainly responsible for its effect, and the body converts some of the R form. It made stereochemistry feel practical rather than abstract. Biology complements this, particularly enzymes and the idea of an active site, which helped me follow the lock-and-key explanations in Napoleon's Buttons by Le Couteur and Burreson. Out of interest I also looked up Lipinski's rule of five and tested it against molecules from my textbook. I counted hydrogen bond donors and acceptors by hand, which was a useful check on my understanding of functional groups. Maths supports the quantitative side. Calculating titration uncertainties and using logarithms for pH have made me careful with numbers, and I like seeing equations describe real behaviour.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

My mother makes soap to sell at a monthly craft market, and for the past year I have worked out her recipes. Each oil has a saponification value, so the amount of sodium hydroxide needed depends on the blend. I built a spreadsheet that calculates it for any combination of oils, with a small reduction so a little oil is left unreacted for a gentler bar. She now uses it for every batch, and explaining hydrolysis of esters to her made me realise how well I understood it. We also agreed on safety rules for handling lye at home, including goggles, gloves and adding the hydroxide to water, never the reverse. My aquarium has become a long-running experiment. I log ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH weekly, and the logs showed how the nitrogen cycle established itself over about six weeks before I added fish. When my plants yellowed, I tested whether iron was limiting by changing one variable at a time rather than buying several products at once. On Saturdays I work at a bakery, starting at six. Weighing ingredients accurately for large batches and keeping allergen labels correct requires the same attention to detail I use in the lab, and serving a busy queue has made me calmer and quicker to communicate. I also play five-a-side football with friends, which is a welcome break. I am looking forward to a degree that combines rigorous chemistry with the problem of making molecules that help people.