The following statement of purpose is written by an applicant who got accepted to top Ph.D. programs in cancer research/cancer biology. Variations of this SOP got accepted at JHU. Read this essay to get inspiration and understand what a top Ph.D. SOP should look like.

Sample Statement of Purpose Ph.D. Cancer Research

I belong to Grushevka, a remote Northern area of Ukraine. Over the years, I have seen how diseases such as deafness, dumbness, mental retardation, hair-related disorders, and cancer have caused widespread miseries for the local inhabitants. Since my childhood days, the agony of their life touched my heart, but I could not do anything for them except spare some time to make them happy. However, during those childhood days, I made a vow to myself to play my part in the fight against diseases that are prevalent in my hometown.

When I started studying biology, I found an avenue that could help me to fulfill my dream. I decided to work on genetic disorders while pursuing my Master’s. During my Master’s, I selected cancer Biology as my area of interest. I studied subjects related to signaling involved in humans, including “Advances in Molecular Genetics,” “Advances in Molecular Biology,” and “Molecular Mechanisms of diseases.” These subjects gave me a strong foundation in Molecular biology, which helped me to pursue research in human genetic disorders. Since my preferred area of interest (Cancer Biology) was unavailable in this lab, I worked on “Mapping Genes Involved in Hereditary Hypotrichosis.” During the research program, I was trained in Molecular biology techniques, including PCR, Electrophoresis, DNA Sequencing and analysis, and others.

Cancer has become the leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases. Breast and ovarian cancer worsen due to early marriages, frequent pregnancies, lack of pre and post-pregnancy care, malnutrition, and a high rate of consanguineous marriages. Estimates suggest that about 80% of breast and 90% of ovarian cancers are sporadic. Only 5% to 10% of breast cancers are hereditary. Many mutated genes play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of different cancers, including APC, BRAC1, BRCA2, and B-catenin, causing colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. According to a reported study, 55%- 65% of women with BRCA1 mutations are at a high risk of breast cancer. According to a WHO report, breast cancer is the most common type in females, affecting females in 145 countries, causing 14% of cancer-related death worldwide and causing the death of 3.3 million women worldwide.

Moreover, it is a severe health threat in countries like Ukraine, with two million deaths in only Europe. In Ukraine, breast and ovarian cancer will be an epidemic, with 1 case per 9 women. However, according to the IARC, only registered cases included 19,271 breast cancer cases and 10,376 breast cancer deaths. Moreover, in contradiction to international trends, in Ukraine, young women aged between 20 to 35 years report breast cancer more frequently, instead of 40 onwards. Due to these alarming figures for the whole country, I have set an ambitious goal to beat and make a difference in the fight against cancer.

For the last decade, I have dreamed of working on applied oncology to eradicate the disease-mediated miseries in Ukraine, particularly in my native areas. I am enthusiastic about pursuing Ph.D. in the subject of cancer biology. Through this research program, I could study the biochemical processes and signaling cascades involved in the underlying disease pathology. I am also looking forward to learning about cancer cells’ intercellular and intracellular atmosphere and how cancer cells metastasize at the molecular level. I also hope to find novel therapeutics as a remedy against the disease, like nanoparticles, proteins that can work as inhibitors of cancer proteins, or RNAi-based silencing of affected genes involved in cancers.

Once I am equipped with these techniques and subject knowledge, I can train the students in my areas at the graduate and research levels. Ukraine has the resources, but a significant barrier is a need for qualified researchers. There is already a university in my native area but it lacks research laboratories and a trained workforce. Therefore, I wish to educate the coming generations and to work for disease-suffering families.