Immunology PhD Student @ UTSW
Welcoming a guest from Korea, and an early birthday present.
I took my second exam and got a credit card with my newly issued SSN card.
A second exam next week, and a few thoughts on two months of routine.
I’m trying not to lose my way.
A 2026 Cell Commentary by Paul Bastard and an international team proposes that antibodies aren’t just a record of past infections — they may be biological modifiers that…
Adapting quickly to a new lab, how I read papers, and how I’m using rotations — three things I worked out during my first month of a US PhD.
Splitting a full month of Dallas spending into recurring monthly costs vs. one-time settling-in costs, to find out what my ‘real’ monthly cost of living actually is.
Challenge and failure. I have no expectations of success.
My first graduate school exam, plus a quick recap of my first month living in the US.
My first week of grad school rotations — a whirlwind introduction to American lab life!
Breaking down everything I actually spent in my first two weeks in Dallas (August 2–14) into six themes: vehicle, home, food, shopping, travel, and subscriptions.
The week grad classes actually started, with a couple of Texas outings squeezed in before rotation life begins.
A 2026 Science Immunology paper reports people who completely lack LFA-1, a common leukocyte adhesion protein. Their systemic immunity was intact — so why did warts never…
A real write-up of buying a 2022 Santa Fe XRT through a private-party sale — how I judged the price, PPI, Carfax, deposit, cashier’s check, bill of sale, title transfer…
The week I got my Texas driver’s license, finished furnishing the apartment with a sofa and a standing desk, and grad school orientation finally began.
A record of my first week in Dallas, after arriving to begin my PhD at UTSW.
From new vs. used vs. CPO to negotiating with dealers — my car-buying timeline before landing in Dallas.
Notes on getting a US number with a Mint Mobile eSIM while keeping my Korean number alive for verification texts
From opening a Chase checking account to picking a first credit card — sorting out my finances right after landing in the US.
Published in Nature in 2024, the human thymus spatial cell atlas is the first to fully map the three-dimensional structure of the place where T cells learn to distinguish…
A 2020 Science paper found that more than 10% of severe COVID-19 patients carried autoantibodies that were destroying their own immune weapons. The story of interferon, and…
From Fulbright and KFAS to Jeongsu, Iljoo, and Kwanjeong — a timing-based rundown of the scholarships a Korean student heading to a US PhD can realistically go after.
A step-by-step walkthrough of the whole F-1 visa process before starting a US PhD program — I-20 issuance, the SEVIS fee, filling out the DS-160, scheduling the interview…
A CV isn’t a list of your experiences — it’s a document that argues you’re a researcher. Pile up the raw material first, then design the story.
A breakdown of how I prepared every application document, from the SOP and Personal Statement to letters of recommendation and my CV
My TOEFL prep experience for US PhD applications — how I approached each section differently
