หมวดหมู่: การศึกษาและวิชาการ

หมวดหมู่
การศึกษาและวิชาการ

ต้องสู้จึงจะชนะ

ต้องสู้ ต้องสู้ จึงจะชนะ
 
ห้ามท้อ ห้ามเบื่อหน่าย ห้ามหยุดอ่าน ห้ามล้มเลิก ห้ามคิดว่าแค่นี้ก็ดีแล้ว ห้ามชะล่าใจ ห้ามประมาท
 
ศัตรูที่ร้ายกาจ คือ ความขี้เกียจ
 
ตอนนี้กำลังปีนหน้าผาที่สูงชัน เชือกก็ไม่แข็งแรง ถ้ากระดุกกระดิกเชือกอาจขาดได้ กลับไปตั้งต้นที่พื้นดินไม่ได้แล้ว
 
มีอยู่อย่างเดียว คือ ต้องไปให้ถึงเนินเขาลูกนี้เพื่อหยุดพักก่อน เพราะจากนั้นเราก็ต้องปีนเขาลูกที่สูงขึ้นไปอีก
 
ขยัน…คือ…คำตอบ
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การศึกษาและวิชาการ

ไปสัมภาษณ์เข้าเรียน PhD

This morning was so beautiful snow across the UK. I went to Kensington Park to take some fantastic photos before took the tube to King’s College, Guy’s campus.
 
King’s College London is one of colleges under the umbrella of University of London. I had applied for a PhD with Dr Stephen Minger, a well-known famous stem cell scientist, because I thought that his research group would be very active and the research topics human embryonic stem cell be promising. After I spent time with him and his lab members for around 2 hours, now I am sure that doing a PhD with this group seems to be very successful and really good for our country, Thailand.
 
There are so many projects available to be done and these are supported not only British government but also pharmaceutical company such as GSK which is one of the giant drug company in the glob. Importanly, all I have to think is that  I have to be independent in terms of performing experiments or managing my academic life. The possible project he offered me is about development of human embryonic stem cells expressing cholinergic phenotype which is aimed to be a cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease and also for other neurodegenerative therapy and will be beneficial for drug discovery screening as well. โดยทั่วไปแล้วผมชอบงานวิจัยนี้มากๆ เมื่อเทียบกับของมหาวิทยาลัยเคมบริดจ์ที่ได้ตอบรับมา
 
My life is destined to high expectations as I have reallized from other people. Dr Wipawan wants me to do a stem cell reseach in Alzhimer’s disease. As well, Dr Daungduen requires my PhD to be involved in the stem cell for neurodegenerative diseases. In my mind, the stem cell research is hot  and promising topic and I can pursue and complete my PhD sucessfully.
 
ที่ต้องเขียนเป็นภาษาไทยเพราะกลัวอาจารย์ที่เคมบริดจ์จะว่าเอา ไม่ไปเรียนกับเขาแล้วยังมาประกาศให้ชาวบ้านรับรู้อีก อาจจะไม่เอาที่เคมบริดจ์แล้วละถ้าได้อันนี้แบบ unconditional offer ก็จะดีมากๆๆ วีระพงษ์คุณทำได้อีกขั้นแล้วเลิกคิดให้ปวดหัว กลับไปอ่านหนังสือเตรียมสอบได้แล้ว ถึงแม้ว่าคิงส์คอลเลทจะไม่ได้เป็นที่สองของโลกเหมือนกับเคมบริดจ์ที่คุณชอบยี่ห้อนักหนา แต่คุณก็จะได้ทำงานวิจัยที่ดีสุดภายใต้นักวิทยาศาสตร์ชื่อก้องโลกอย่างสตีฟมิงเกอร์ คุณน่าจะพอใจนะ ผมว่ามันวิเศษมากเลยที่คุณมีโอกาสไปนั่งคุยกับคนที่คุณเคยเขียนอีเมล์ไปขอที่เรียนกับเขาตั้งแต่ปีที่แล้ว ครบรอบหนึ่งปีวันนี้คุณก็ได้นั่งคุยกับเขาและกับลูกศิษย์กลุ่มที่ใหญ่ที่สุดตั้งแต่ไปเยี่ยมแล็บมา มี post-doc 3 คน นักเรียน PhD สิบคนได้ ทั้งหมดแล้ว 14 คนแนะ
 
ในที่สุดก้ได้เห็นตัวเป็นๆ ได้จับมือ ได้คุยยังกับเป็นความฝัน ชีวิตนี้มีบุญเยอะนะวีระพงษ์ ควรมีความสุขได้แล้ว ตั้งใจเรียนให้จบเร็วๆ จะได้กลับไปพัฒนาประเทศไทย
 
สรุปว่าคุณจะอีเมล์ไปบอกเขานะว่าจะเรียนกับเขาจริงๆ ไม่เอาเคมบริดจ์แล้ว (แอบเสียใจลึกๆ และรู้สึกผิดกับอาจารย์และเพื่อนที่นั่น) การพัฒนาเซลล์ต้นกำเนิดจากตัวอ่อนให้เป็นเซลล์ประสาทโคลิเนอร์จิกเพื่อรักษาโรคอัลไซเมอร์และเพื่อค้นคว้าหายาใหม่สำหรับโรคทางสมอง หัวข้อนี้น่าจะเหมาะกับคุณนะวีระพงษ์
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Living Well and How does the memory store in the brain?

  • Although I slept 1.00AM last night and got up around 9.00AM, I still feel sleepy all the time this morning. Nowadays, I always get stress about my final exams and this make me anxious which can express like cannot sleep easily and dream about many stories during sleep. To clear food stuffs in the freezer of P Sing, I found chicken that was much enough to cook one main course, so, finally, I decided to cook chicken green curry which is very tasty and fabulous in my opinion. This menu could possibly supply me for at least 3 days and I have to complete it by myself  because I am living alone right now without P Sing who is in Thailand now.

  • As I am in the revision period, reading book is my main interest alternating with serfing the net like neuroscience websites and Pantip to answer some practical questions posted by Thai people there like, for example, how to prepare for overseas interview organized  by UCL course director. Because I have experienced in this case as I was interviewed by Cardiff University, University of California, Los Angeles and Imperial College London last year, so I suggested he to organize all necessary short notes in front of him during the interview and turn  the telephone speaker  on in order to allow his colleagues to help suggest answers in case he cannot understand what is being asked.

  • Regarding my topics being read by myself now, I feel very difficult to understand the whole story of learning, memory, long term potentiation as well as long term depression which are compulsary topics and I think it will be in some parts of the final exam questions. Basically, human lern to memorize things from experience. Learning is defined by acquisition new information. And memory is the process to maintain our knowledge. Generally, memory can be classified into two stages: short-term memory and long-term  memory. To transfer the information memorized in the short -term period to long-term one, we have a process called memory consolidation.

  • All  things I mentioned above are vivid in behavioural studies. However, how can we explain clearly in terms of cellular and molecular mechanisims? Let’s me explain briefly. During the learning period, there are a huge number of synaptic transmission in our brain described by a pre-synaptic neuron releases neurotransmitter molecules from its axon terminal and such the released transmitter diffuse across synaptic cleft to bind to their target called neurotransmitter receptors which are located on surface of neuronal cell membrane of a post-synaptic neuron.

  • NMDA receptors and AMPA receptors are the most important glutamate receptors involving learning and memory mechanism of the neuron. As far as glutamate bind to the AMPA receptor, Na+ ions can enter into nerve cell and then this cause membrane potential become more positive voltage enough to activate the NMDA receptor. Naturally, the NMDA receptor is cloged by an Mg2+ ion in the ion channel that means the channel is not allowed to cary any ions into the neuron. Once the NMDA receptor binded by glutamate is being activated by the action potential caused by AMPA receptor, the Mg2+ ion is gone and the large amount of  Ca2+ and Na+ now enter to the post-synaptic neuron.

  • A high level of Ca2+ in form of Calcium-Calmodulin then activate two proteins: Calcium-Calmodulin -dependent protein kinase II known as CaMKII and protein kinase C.

  • Now I have to continue reading and I will write about the mechanism again tomorrow.
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Chosing a PhD programme is so difficult!

 As you may know, I have been awarded a scholarship from the Royal Thai Government to study neuroscience and cognitive sciences or related fields. Before I came to Imperial, I got acceptance letters form many UK universities to do PhD in neurosciences directly. However, I was thinking that it was my big change in academic life from BSc in Pharmacy to PhD in neuroscience that means I was not confident to do a PhD. Finally, I decided to study MSc Integrative Neuroscience at Imperial College School of Medicine for the following reasons:
 
1. MSc will give me a solid background in neuroscience before doing a PhD research.
2. Imperial College is very famous in terms of biomedicine (4th), science (6th) and technology (9th) according to world university ranking (ranked 9th overall for this year) which mean I can use this opportunity to make my PhD application outstanding, strong and well-recognized.
3. London is the fantastic capital city that I never thought to be here because I am from countryside family based at Esarn region.
 
Currently, I have already applied for PhD positions at UK universites only with no reasons why don’t I continue my study in the states. Last month I visit and was interviewed by staff members of Department of Physiology, Neuroscience and Development at University of Cambridge and I got this place finally. Nevertheless, the problem is if I chose this place I have to do a research involving neurobiology of peripheral nervous system focusing on neural placodes and neural crest cells development which are not my first objectives to study abord.
 
Since I promised to Chula teachers that I would do stem cell research in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other diseases, I also have applied for stem cell reseach for Multiple Sclerosis at Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair where  active research is being done by world-leading scientists. The result will be announced in early March.  Eventhough my potential supervisor told me that I would be qualified for this , I am currently nervous and very anxious about my furture life.
 
As well, applying another place is reasonable to secure my PhD place. I am going to visit and discuss possibilities to study with Dr Stephen Minger at King’s College London. He is a stem cell scientist who created the first embryonic stem cell line in the UK and he also submitted a breakthrough research proposal to create a mixed stem cell line from cow and human. Hopefully, I will get lots of experience meeting him and his lab members and I will do all my best again.
 
To sum up, my PhD positions can be rated as my preference as follows:
 
1. Cambridge Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge
2. Department of Physiology, Neuroscience and Development, University of Cambridge
3. King’s College London
4. University College London (perhaps)
 
 
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to improve my English

I have been living in London since September last year but my English is still in the infant stage caused by some reasons that I have chosen on my own. During my MSc course, I took 5 timed-assays already but, you know, I am satisfied with the results which were B+, D+, B+, D- and minisymposium for B+. These results appear to reflect that my understandings in neuroscience is not good (bad) enough to get a good mark or in somehow I could absorb what teachers tuaght but could not explain or describe well in the exams. This is my first attempt to write things in English here in order to be familiar with academic writing.
 
PS. Today, I bought a book called Cognitive Neuroscience: the Biology of the Mind from waterstone bookshop near UCL. The price 39.99 pounds for this book is high for a Thai person like myself but I had to buy for using in the exam and to understand cognitive things for teaching Thai students in the future. I will use this book effectively and keep in my mind that this is supported by huge money of Thai people.