01 Why DKU?
I Studied in public school from childhood and went to Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany as an exchange student when high school. Since then, I have been looking forward to receiving international education in the university. DKU just gives me a cost-effective opportunity, first-class hardware facilities and a close and diverse community also make me very attracted. Of course, most importantly, I feel that DKU is a place where I can push the limits with my efforts, and later experience has proved that it is true.
02 Stories About My Major And Me
My connection with the major of Global Health can be traced back to the interview day on campus, when I attended Professor Yan Lijing’s simulated class on cardiovascular diseases. The rich academic atmosphere left a deep impression on me, and I look forward to more opportunities to study and research on important issues affecting our society. After entering the university, I found that with the blessing of the master’s program, the undergraduate global health resources are very rich, and I was fortunate to carry out scientific research under the guidance of Teacher Yan for many times.
03 Plans After Graduation
After graduation, I will continue to study for a master’s degree in cardiovascular epidemiology at Harvard University, hoping to devote myself to scientific research and translate the results into practical applications in the future, so as to contribute to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, a global health burden.
04 Significant Research Experience
In the second semester of my junior year, I came into contact with the first large-scale scientific research project that I fully invested in since the university – the community-centered smart technology smoking cessation project. I chose to participate in this project because of its significance. It is an attempt at a new type of smoking cessation measure, known as the “smoking rationalization belief,” which, if proven effective, could be rolled out to grassroots communities in China to reduce the burden of chronic disease. Secondly, this project can help me master how to design and implement randomized controlled trials, an important research method, which is very helpful to my personal growth. Although I didn’t know anything at the beginning, my Advisor, Professor Yan Lijing, saw my passion for research and gave me patient guidance. Led by former graduate student Rui Wang, the project is currently underway in Qingpu District, Shanghai, and plans to publish academic results in corresponding journals and academic conferences.
Professor Yan Lijing (first from right) and fellow students at the DKU
Another research experience related to the above topics is to evaluate the impact of China’s smoke-free policies and explore a large-scale policy perspective for tobacco control. Unlike randomized controlled trials, this study used a novel Synthetic diff-in-diffs method to make causal inferences. I am very grateful to Professor Jason Todd for leading me into the door of causal inference research, and I am also very grateful to Professor Yan Lijing for her help. After learning about my research interest, she introduced me to the Impact assessment project team of the National Chronic Disease Demonstration Zone in cooperation with the China CDC, so that I could strengthen the understanding of the real-world application of this research method.
From the two tutors, I felt their enthusiasm and rigor for scientific research, and admired their purity and simplicity, especially afte internships in the industry. In particular, Prof Yan’s gentle and elegant temperament, which belongs only to scholars, made me yearn for this path even though I had never considered engaging in scientific research before. I also enjoy the atmosphere of getting along with my tutors. They treated me not as a condescending leader to subordinates, only focusing on my output, but as a real educator to be taught, guiding me to find problems and solve them, and looking forward to my gain and growth in the work.
05 Rich Internship Experience
In the first semester of my sophomore year, I found a remote internship in American Intellectual Property Company (IPwe) through the career development office l and have been working there ever since. During this experience, I gradually got used to working in an English-speaking environment with colleagues from all over the world and developed my management skills while leading a working group. In addition, the content of this job allows me to keep up with the pace of scientific and technological development in addition to learning professional knowledge. From the earliest blockchain to the recent meta-universe and artificial intelligence, it gives me a lot of inspiration for the future direction of entrepreneurship.
In the summer of my sophomore year, I also explored the medical consulting industry (BenHealth) and conducted research on the immunotherapy market for non-small cell lung cancer. During this period, I participated in interviews, data analysis and final results presentation, exercised my ability of frame thinking, and gained a general understanding of the consulting industry.
06 Colorful Life in Duke
I went to Duke in autumn 2021. Although I had seen many photos of Duke before, I was shocked by her beauty when I actually stood in front of her. The towering Gothic church and the modern Western Union canteen don’t feel out of place. The blue sky in North Carolina was particularly clear, and the purple-pink sunset brightened my mood after an afternoon of classes. I still remember the evening concert on the lawn and the exciting basketball game.
Academically, I was introduced to The Center for Policy Impact in Global Health (CPIGH) by Duke Professor Gregory Grey, whom I met in class before. Under the guidance of Dr Wenhui Mao and with funding from WHO, my research team explored the current knowledge gaps in research on social Determinants of health (SDH) and shared their findings at leading academic conferences in the field of global health.
Dinner with Professor Gregory (first from left) and his classmates
In life, I also made a good friend Garrett. He’s from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and happens to be on an exchange at Duke. During Thanksgiving, I spent a very traditional American atmosphere in his home, so I have a deeper understanding of American culture.
He’s in America with his friend Garrett
07 Why Love DKU?
I remember a classmate once likened DKU to the ivory tower of ivory towers, and maybe that’s why I fell in love with her.
There is a pure pursuit of scholarship, a sincere enthusiasm for life, and most importantly, a lovely group of people here. The professors at DKU are very willing to give everything to each other and give us the opportunity to grow in practice. DKU students are friendly, ambitious and ambitious. In such an atmosphere, only more efforts, with the excellent, close to the excellent.
08 Suggestions To Fellow Students
Choosing to join DKU is not only a choice of the place to study for the next four years, but also a choice of the state of life in the future. If you’re uncomfortable with the status quo and looking forward to a future full of challenges and possibilities, then DKU is for you.
Translated and Edited by Zhenyu Tian, Class of 2027
