Send Me to Grad School

Hi everyone. My name is Jason Smith, I'm 24 years old, and I'm in the last year of a biotechnology/pharmaceutical design degree at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.

As an undergraduate student here, I've had the opportunity to take part in some amazing research. We've learned some cool things that could have a big impact on the future of medicine, and I'd like to continue my studies in bioinformatics and pharmacology/toxicology. To do that, I need your help.

Applying to graduate school is an expensive process. I need to sit a number of different exams (PCAT, GRE, subject tests) and pay application fees, not to mention the travel costs for in-person interviews. I'm already in debt to my school and to the government for my undergraduate student loans - it's not possible for me to borrow any money to pay for these exams or application fees.

So, need your help. One of the most frequent comments I get from my friends is that they love the science-related posts I make on my Facebook page. Well, I love them too! And I want to keep learning new things and sharing them with the world. I'm asking for your financial contribution to help me apply to PharmD and PhD programs. Every cent counts!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR
My undergraduate work has dealt with homology modeling of human proteins/cellular receptors. We've been able to build computer models of the human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that are accurate enough - according to our simulations - to be used for computer-aided drug design. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor has important implications in the treatment of schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease among others. Simulations involving this receptor can be used to discover potential drug targets that have high specificity, allowing for targeted treatment of the regions implicated in these conditions without broad systemic side effects.

I am also working on a method to make accurate computer models of human G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) without the high level of technical skill and specific knowledge currently required for this task. The goal of this project is to streamline and simplify GPCR modeling, since a vast majority of drug targets are GPCRs, and they are very difficult to express in the lab. A simple method for this task would simplify the task of high-throughput screening and docking simulation for human GPCR drug targets.