My Life - Nan zhang

My name is Nan Zhang. >> I am from Yunnan Province, China. I am now studying biostatistics >> in the School of Public Health >> at the University of Minnesota. I majored in mathematics in the first two years >> of my undergraduate program at Beijing Normal University, >> and then I switched to statistics. I chose statistics as my major because >> I am a big fan of data. >> My concern for human health leads me to biostatistics. So I decided to choose biostatistics as my major >> I think it is a very good choice. For a master's student in biostatistics, >> there are still plenty of opportunities in the job market. I chose the University of Minnesota >> for its great reputation, good study environment >>and outstanding professors. The other important reason is the financial assistance >> I received from the school that covered my tuition and health insurance. The financial assistance comes in the form of >> research assistantship. First of all, it >> provided me with tuition waiver and health insurance. This way I do not need to worry about financial problems. Secondly, as a research assistant, I have the opportunity >> to improve my software programming skills and >> learning ability in general. The research assistant position also allows me to apply >> what I have learned in the classroom to real life, >> helping me understand the application of knowledge. My other research assistant position is with the >> Biomedical Data Research Center. I am in the SMART* [Strategies for Management of >> Antiretroviral Therapy] group, our research focus >> is on the timing for *** treatment using antiretroviral therapy. The main goal of this research is to find out the >> best stage to start antiretroviral therapy, >> during early stage or at a later stage. We are now only at the initial phase of the research. We bring in four patients to our research center every month. My job is to code the data generated from >> the patients' surveys, and then generate >> statistical forms to present the data. It is quite different experience for me to study and conduct >> research here at the Universityof Minnesota, >> compared to my undergraduate studies in China. Here I have more opportunities to work on research projects >> in biostatistics in the real world. In China, however, biostatistics is still at >> the initial developing stage, and there may not be >> as many projects for me, as a student, to participate in. Before I came here, I always thought Minnesota >> would be super cold. But actually it is not as cold as I imagined. I started to like Minnesota winter. >> There are many things I can do in winter. I like skiing. And I love the snow here! There is not much snow in my hometown back in China. >> The snow in Minnesota is so pretty. >> I feel so happy every time I see snow. So I think it is pretty good. >> Minnesota is nice. I really like it here. The people I meet here, my landlord, my friends in >> biostatistics, professors, and my academic advisors, they are all very nice to me. They have been giving me >> a lot of help, with my study as well as everyday life. If you ask me what I think about the University of Minnesota, [I would say] I strongly recommend this university, >> it is such a wonderful place for students.