Saroj Chakraborty

[email protected]

PhD in Neurosciences
Case Western Reserve University

Statement of Purpose
It was sad for me to envisage someone dearest counting the last days of life. Affected by two
consecutive strokes (Cerebro vascular accident), my grandmother became victim of both whole
body paralysis and neurodegenerative dementia; she, ultimately, passed away right in front of my
eyes. Thats the first time I noticed how omnipotent the brain is and its pervasive impact on
literally every aspect of our life. From that time, I felt an immense motivation to conduct
research in neuroscience.
In order to explore neuroscience in greater depth, I followed the HarvardX online course
Fundamentals of Neuroscience (MCB80x) taught by Professor David Cox of Harvard University.
In place of satisfying my hunger, it has somehow produced an insatiable thirst for the knowledge
of neuroscience by providing basic knowledge about electrical properties of neurons which
include both resistance and capacitance of neurons and membranes, resting and action potentials
for neurons, synapses, neuromodulators, synaptic plasticity, potentiation etc. These things further
increase my dedication toward neuroscience, and I, ultimately, decided to engage myself to the
research on neurodegenerative diseases, neuro immunology, optogenetics, and other relevant
topics.
I have a Bachelor degree in Microbiology with a CGPA of 3.78 and a Master degree in
Microbiology with a CGPA 3.66 on a 4.0 point scale from the University of Dhaka. I was also
awarded the Deans List (2012), the most prestigious award for the Biological Science Faculty of
the University of Dhaka. This boosts up my motivation and enhances my self-confidence to
confront any challenge that I will face in my future life.
For the partial fulfillment of the Bachelor degree, I chose International Center for Diarrhoeal
Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) for the internship, the best laboratory in biomedical
research in Bangladesh. During the short internship period, I worked with a group of highly
trained researchers to investigate the prevalence and etiology of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)
and the role of Campylobacter jejuni as an etiological agent. Although I had not given a chance
to establish any specific findings, a number of lab techniques including cultural, biochemical,
ELISA, and PCR was done by me. Finally, the internship ended up with an internship report and
seminar presentation which earned me a good grade. This internship helps me to get accustomed
to the research environment of an international laboratory as well as provides me the first hand
neuroscience research experience.
My most significant research work was the Master dissertation entitled Isolation and Detection
of Aerobic Bacteria from Multi-Transfused Patients done from the Department of Microbiology

of the University of Dhaka. The dissertation was on the collaboration of both the Microbiology
Department and Dhaka Medical College, which was funded by a highly competitive National
Science and Technology Fellowship (July 2013-June 2014). The main concern of the study was
to investigate the infections involving aerobic bacteria among multi-transfused patients who are
immunologically weak. The secondary concern of the investigation was to determine the
antibiotic sensitivity pattern of all the isolated bacteria. All organisms were identified
morphologically and biochemically by standard laboratory procedures, and antibiotic
susceptibility pattern was determined by modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. The
investigation will, hopefully, further help to improve the blood safety guidelines among the
multi-transfused patients in Bangladesh. The thesis gave me the opportunity to conduct a
complete research where I had to design a study, read appropriate journals to establish the
methods and protocols of study, and analyze the results and reach conclusions, overcoming the
challenges associated with the research. These challenges provide me ample confidence to
design a study plan in neuroscience in the future and cope up with the upcoming challenges that
will come along with it.
During the research works sample collection and management of voluntary blood donation
programs through BADHON (a voluntary blood donor organization) and MBDC (a voluntary
blood donor community within microbial establishment), I got the opportunity to meet people of
various classes and had to convince them to fill up my research questionnaires or to donate
blood. These opportunities enhance my interpersonal skills and also enable me with the
adaptation skills to work with any environment and any class of people. In addition to the social
activity, the experiences that I gained by managing microbiology departmental team during
soccer, basketball, and cricket games and also by organizing various cultural programs empower
me with the ability to work with people as well as enhance my team work and organizational
skills. Finally, the voluntary activities in the day care center of the Institute of Educational
Research of the University of Dhaka added a special feature in my experiences where I had to
take care of several autistic children. This voluntary activity enables me with the ability to handle
children who have difficulties with social interaction and verbal or non-verbal communication,
or people who have neurodevelopmental disorder.
Can Neuroscience overcome the therapeutic challenges like aging and associated alterations,
neurodegenerative diseases, CNS and PNS injuries, concussion, cell and gene therapy etc.? Will
human beings be able to outsmart other pathogens (multi-drug resistant, genetically mutated) and
control evolutionary track? As almost every process of our body depends on the signaling that
run across the neurons and synapses, can we control these processes by manipulating the signals
from outside? Can we overcome the ethical constrains and other lackings of Neurogenetics and
optogenetics to use them as a tool of controlling human behavior and lower the risks of suicide,
obesity, alcohol and drug dependency etc? Can we figure out the proper mechanisms of
development of various organs like eye, retina, ear, other olfactors, neural connections etc. and
use this knowledge to cure injured or genetically lacked person through stem cell therapy? Can

we identify every genetical and physical changes like virus contribution associated with
neurologic conditions and disorders and use of them as a target for diagnosis and/or treatment?
As we break down the vaccination process, we can see that the signaling converts some B-cell to
memory B-cell. Can we only supply the signal through neuromodulators, neurons, synapses and
produce appropriate response against various diseases, even cancer? These are some of the
questions that will drive my (future) research. The emphasis of the PhD Program in
Neurosciences of the Case Western Reserve University convincingly matches my research
interests. Besides the cutting edge research facilities and the research environment, the unique
academic curriculum of the university attracts me as well.
My future plan involves becoming a world class researcher in the field of Neuroscience. A
doctorate degree from the Case Western Reserve University will surely play a key role toward
achieving that goal. I firmly believe that the strong base of the ongoing research at the
Neurosciences PhD Program of the Case Western Reserve University will offer me an excellent
stepping-stone for further research oriented career. Moreover, my native country, Bangladesh,
has recently put huge emphasis on Neuroscience by establishing National Institute of NeuroSciences & Hospital (NINS). But the scarcity of equipped professionals hinders the progression.
Therefore, I believe a PhD degree in Neuroscience from the Case Western Reserve University
will equip me with proper knowledge to bring in new thinking and opportunities.
Saroj Chakraborty
Applicant: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Neurosciences Program.