Cover letter

Dear all,

Firstly, I would like to thank for the possibility of this forum. It´s a great help for us, whose mother language is not english.
I am looking for a PhD fellowship, to which I need to send a cover/motivation letter. Could you please proof-read it for me and let me know how to improve it.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Any help will be greatly appreciated
Many thanks in advance,


Nguyen
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Dear professor
It is with great pleasure that I am forwarding my resume to you for the Ph.D. position under your auspices. Completed the MSc in Biochemistry from University of *****, FRANCE in June, 2013, I am actually in search of a suitable doctoral program in the field of cellular and molecular biology. Having reviewed your PhD studentship, I am certain that my academic background, professional experience and personal interest are well suited to the requirements of the project and would like to apply.

Major in Biology during my high school years, I attended the School of Pharmacy with the hope to combine my interest in life sciences and my sense of social mission. In my opinion, the supreme objective of all biological achievements is human life. I ranked among the top five students in the National Entrance Examination for Medicine and Pharmacy University, one the best universities in health sciences in Vietnam. As assistant researcher in the laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry Department since my third year undergraduate, I had exposed early myself to daily research and laboratory-based environments as well as had awaked my hidden excitement of doing science.

I did my graduation dissertation in Computer-aided Drugs Design domain under the co-supervision of two expert professors, one in Medicinal Chemistry and other in Bioinformatics. The project focused on seeking for selective modulators of Beta Estrogen Receptor (ß-ER), using chemical data together with computational biology. Modulating specifically this new discovered subtype of ER, which involves a number of important physiological functions, would help adjusting related dysfunctions. Through this research experience, I perceived gradually that modern sciences had blurred boundaries between different areas. Multi-disciplinary approaches, to my mind, thus would constitute reasonable research orientation at this time, while the latter half of twentieth century witnessed the rise of high technologies. On the other hand, working with structures of estrogen receptors during my thesis reinforced my interest in molecular biology, especially in macromolecules involved in biological processes.

What is more, I gained also professional experience while operating as industrial pharmacist at pharmaceutical company Dermapharm Co. Ltd between 2011 and 2012. Changing environment and subjects of research, gave me not only opportunity to learn broader spectrum of laboratory techniques, but also confidence in working in different teams and on different topics. I had learned how important and stimulating is to change working place and reset new, more ambitious goals. Moreover, a mission directly implying safety and quality of medicine trained me to be more responsible and to work under pressure better. In September 2012, I arrived in France to reinitiate my academic career with ‘Master of Biochemistry and Medicine’ in University of *****, always with my passionate and motivated heart.

During my Master program, I have had the opportunity to attend course modules covering a wide range of topics at the interface of many disciplines: biology, chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics. My MSc dissertation, which was performed in the laboratory of Biophotonic and Pharmacology, focused on the specific primer usage upon HIV-1 plus-strand synthesis. The project aims to study molecular mechanism of this event, modulated by the interplay between the reverse transcriptase (RT) and the nucleocapsid protein (NCp7), based on biochemical and biophysical techniques.The work really offered me valuable insights into fluorescence techniques (ensemble and single-molecule FRET, steady-state and time-resolved measurements, TIRF microscopy) as well as molecular biology approaches (single-site mutagenesis, protein expression, labeling and purification).

Such acquired knowledge, skills and competences make me believe that I have the capability and potential to fulfill this PhD position. With my ambitious, persistent and dedicated nature, I am also confident to overcome first-time difficulties and thoroughly integrate in an excellent research teams like yours. Furthermore, due to the fact that molecular biology is a personal passion, I will do my best to exceed your expectations.

I have enclosed my CV, contact details of my academic referees as per your instructions. Please inform me if I can provide additional information to aid you in the evaluation of my application.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,