By Ien Li - Medicine One memory that resonates with me occurred the summer I turned twelve, when my family visited our home country, Taiwan, for the first time in a decade. There, amidst the elation of reunion, I also received staggering news: I had developed severe idiopathic scoliosis … It was in coming to terms with my struggle that I realized my passion for scientific research, a discipline that has allowed me to meet and collaborate with incredible scientists, and has pushed the boundaries of what I deemed achievable. Initially, in pursuit of research opportunities, I had emailed letters to fifty-five prominent researchers, whose published works I greatly admired. Yet three-quarters of the scientists to whom I reached out never responded.

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• Medicine