Talk · Passion | 什么專業(yè)，這么上頭？

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同時(shí)“啃”3個(gè)硬核專業(yè)；

GPA滿分畢業(yè)，

基本沒有懸念；

為了把喜歡的課程都讀一遍，

延期畢業(yè)也在所不惜；

珍愛健康，

天天鍛煉，餐餐下廚！

——這就是我們正在多倫多大學(xué)讀書的校友莊文祥的大學(xué)生活！

嘉賓：莊文祥（Wen Zhuang）

1年級(jí)加入啟明星

啟明星2023屆高中畢業(yè)生

多倫多大學(xué)本科3年級(jí)在讀

主修神經(jīng)科學(xué)和營養(yǎng)科學(xué)雙專業(yè)

輔修生理學(xué)

3個(gè)專業(yè)，

怎么確定的？

文祥：我選神經(jīng)科學(xué)和營養(yǎng)科學(xué)作為主修，原因很多——

首先，在神經(jīng)科學(xué)領(lǐng)域，人類目前真正理解的內(nèi)容非常有限。神經(jīng)退行性疾病，比如阿茲海默癥、失智，是現(xiàn)代醫(yī)學(xué)中少數(shù)幾個(gè)沒有很好治療方案的一類疾病。人類迫切需要在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域取得進(jìn)展。

另外，神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)的生理機(jī)制，相比于其他身體系統(tǒng)和器官，我們了解得實(shí)在太少了。這是一個(gè)非常前沿、有潛力、也極具吸引力的領(lǐng)域。

至于我選的另一個(gè)專業(yè)——營養(yǎng)科學(xué)的原因——首先，我喜歡吃。我對(duì)飲食文化和烹飪科學(xué)都有很大的興趣。上大學(xué)之后，大概 95% 的飯我都是自己做的。

另外，營養(yǎng)科學(xué)在學(xué)術(shù)前沿上和神經(jīng)科學(xué)一樣復(fù)雜，更強(qiáng)調(diào)“health-care”（健康管理），而不是 “sick-care”（疾病治療）。我學(xué)習(xí)營養(yǎng)科學(xué)，也能把我喜歡美食和關(guān)注人類健康結(jié)合起來。

“文祥對(duì)自己和未來都有想法，又沒有被年輕人慣有的天馬行空而困擾。他想要為身邊的世界帶來積極的影響，想要成為創(chuàng)變者?！?/p>

——來自12年級(jí)班主任兼經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)老師Darcy Au-Yeung的觀察

文祥在啟明星的舊照

文祥：其實(shí)剛讀大學(xué)的時(shí)候，我還考慮過藥理學(xué)和藥物動(dòng)力學(xué)專業(yè)?？墒巧狭艘欢握n，我發(fā)現(xiàn)大概有1/4的課程內(nèi)容都在講產(chǎn)業(yè)資金，以及怎樣讓大型制藥公司為你的實(shí)驗(yàn)買單，而不是真正去學(xué)習(xí)疾病機(jī)制，如何改善人們的健康。

我更感興趣的是如何讓人們變得更健康，通過營養(yǎng)、健康的生活方式來預(yù)防疾病，而不是僅僅是在亞健康狀態(tài)下吃藥保持壽命的長度。所以我選擇營養(yǎng)科學(xué)，放棄了藥理學(xué)。

怎樣越學(xué)

越"享受"？

文祥：我喜歡把文獻(xiàn)和實(shí)驗(yàn)室里的知識(shí)真的應(yīng)用到生活中。

比如，我會(huì)給自己吃的大部分食物精確稱重，因?yàn)槲冶緛砭妥约鹤鲲垼@么做很方便。

我還會(huì)把某些微量營養(yǎng)素的攝入，和我定期做的血液檢測(cè)做相關(guān)性分析。

我會(huì)做統(tǒng)計(jì)分析，發(fā)現(xiàn)一些只在我個(gè)人身上成立、但符合生物學(xué)邏輯的有趣的相關(guān)性和趨勢(shì)。

根據(jù)實(shí)驗(yàn)調(diào)整飲食和生活方式之后，我的生物指標(biāo)得到了明顯優(yōu)化。

有一個(gè)比賽叫“長壽世界杯”，這是一個(gè)基于研究的生物年齡計(jì)算競(jìng)賽，我實(shí)際上獲得了全球第三名。我的個(gè)人 PhenoAge 大約相當(dāng)于5個(gè)月大的小孩，哈哈。

我還在一個(gè)世界領(lǐng)先的微生物組實(shí)驗(yàn)室，研究腸道菌群與癌癥和衰老相關(guān)的分子機(jī)制。

我的7X24：

學(xué)習(xí)、閱讀、

考飛行執(zhí)照......

文祥：大學(xué)里時(shí)間真的很有限，社交生活都不得不往后排一排。

如果是上課日，我一般早上會(huì)鍛煉，基本上是每周6到7天。

之后去上上午的課，然后回家吃午飯，或者在學(xué)校吃早上從家里帶來的飯。我的飯幾乎都是自己做。

如果晚上有課，我會(huì)去上晚課；如果沒有，我就去實(shí)驗(yàn)室做研究。

學(xué)習(xí)之外，我會(huì)把時(shí)間分配給興趣愛好、閱讀和參加學(xué)生社團(tuán)。

我是心血管疾病學(xué)生協(xié)會(huì)研究委員會(huì)成員，也擔(dān)任過多大通勤學(xué)生網(wǎng)絡(luò)的負(fù)責(zé)人之一。

另外，我還是生理學(xué)系 EDI 社區(qū)委員會(huì)成員。

我也做短跑訓(xùn)練，是競(jìng)技田徑運(yùn)動(dòng)員。

每年我也會(huì)背包旅行幾次。

另外，我還在考私人飛行員執(zhí)照。

所有這些事情對(duì)我來說，本質(zhì)上都和科學(xué)一樣，都是我真正熱愛的事情。

大學(xué)里

最有意思的是？

我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己更享受學(xué)習(xí)本身了。

對(duì)其他人來說，可能是獨(dú)立生活，或者社交，但對(duì)我來說，是可以學(xué)“科學(xué)”。

我要在科學(xué)上做出成績，同樣需要掌握很多其他能力——我更喜歡在科學(xué)的語境中培養(yǎng)這些綜合能力。

說實(shí)話，科學(xué)就是我的方向。我是真的享受做科學(xué)研究這件事。

多倫多大學(xué)

讓我喜歡的是——

能夠充分利用學(xué)校提供的所有資源，

同時(shí)在學(xué)業(yè)、興趣和未來規(guī)劃之間，

找到自己的節(jié)奏，我覺得我已經(jīng)找到了。

我很喜歡多倫多大學(xué)的一點(diǎn)是，

我的學(xué)位可以非常定制化，有很大自主空間，

專業(yè)、輔修和證書都有很多組合方式。

對(duì)我來說，我想學(xué)的科學(xué)內(nèi)容，4年本科根本學(xué)不完，所以我可能會(huì)讀第5年。

本科畢業(yè)后我計(jì)劃繼續(xù)攻讀研究型博士（PhD）或醫(yī)學(xué)博士（MD）。

長期來看，我希望成為臨床科學(xué)家，一名研究者，或者探索私人健康/生物技術(shù)創(chuàng)業(yè)。

關(guān)于尋找“熱愛”，

給個(gè)建議？

文祥：對(duì)大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)來說，最重要的是，

你必須真正熱愛你所學(xué)的內(nèi)容。

如果你還不知道自己真正熱愛什么，

那就選擇靈活的課程項(xiàng)目，

有更多探索空間的學(xué)校，

確保你有足夠的自由去嘗試不同領(lǐng)域。

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律師篇 | 做律師，門檻有多高？

If you truly love both your studies and your life,
you can really do this—

Studying even the most demanding majors without fear of exhaustion;
treating experimental data not just as numbers stored on a computer,
but also as something applied to yourself;
taking action to join your ideal research team without hesitation or fear of rejection;
consider delaying graduation as an option because you want to take all the courses you love;
valuing your health as much as your education—
exercising daily, cooking every meal,
and not missing out on meaningful extracurricular activities.

This is exactly what university life looks like for Wen Zhuang,
a graduate of Daystar Academy’s Class of 2023.

Guest Speaker: Wen Zhuang

Joined Daystar Academy in First Grade

Daystar Academy High School Class of 2023 graduate
Currently a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, Canada
Double major in Neuroscience and Nutritional Sciences, minor in Physiology

Choosing Three Fields at Once

Wen:I chose Neuroscience and Nutritional Sciences as my majors for several reasons.

First, in the field of neuroscience, humanity’s current understanding is still extremely limited.Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia remain among the few major categories of illness in modern medicine that still lack effective treatments.From a public health perspective, progress in this area is urgently needed.

Moreover, compared with other body systems and organs, we know far too little about the physiological mechanisms of the nervous system.That is precisely what makes neuroscience such a frontier discipline—highly challenging, full of potential, and deeply compelling.

As for my other major, Nutritional Sciences, the reason is simple: I love food. I’m deeply interested in food culture and the science of cooking. Since starting university, I’ve cooked about 95% of my meals myself.

More importantly, at the academic frontier, nutritional science is just as complex as neuroscience, but it places more emphasis on health-care rather than sick-care.Studying nutritional science allows me to combine my passion for food with my long-standing concern for human health.

“Wen’s a very motivated young man. He has his own plans for the future. He is not filled with ungrounded ideals but has a very grounded sense of that which he is capable. He wants to be an innovator, to make a positive difference to the world around him.”

—Darcy Au-Yeung, Wen’s G12 homeroom and Economics teacher

Wen’s old photos at Daystar

Wen:When I first started university, I also considered pharmacology and pharmacokinetics. However, after taking some courses, I realized that drug development and pharmacology cannot fully address the systemic problems faced by modern medicine.

You might be surprised to learn that nearly one-quarter of the coursework focused on industry funding—how to persuade large pharmaceutical companies to pay for your experiments—rather than on understanding disease mechanisms or how to improve people’s health.

What truly interests me is how people can become healthier through nutrition and lifestyle, preventing disease rather than simply taking medication to extend lifespan while remaining in a sub-healthy state.That is why I ultimately chose nutritional science and stepped away from pharmacology.

Are You Doing Any Interesting Research?

Wen: I’m someone who really enjoys hands-on practice.I like applying what I learn from the literature and the lab directly to real life.

For example, I precisely weigh most of the food I eat. Since I cook almost all my meals myself, this is quite convenient. I also correlate my intake of specific micronutrients with data from regular blood tests.

Through statistical analysis, I’ve identified some interesting correlations and trends that apply specifically to me as an individual, yet still make biological sense.

After adjusting my diet and lifestyle based on experimental results, my biological markers improved significantly.

There is a research-based competition called the “Longevity World Cup,” which calculates biological age. I placed third globally. My personal PhenoAge is equivalent to that of a five-month-old infant.

In addition, I am also conducting research in a world-leading microbiome lab, studying the molecular mechanisms linking gut microbiota with cancer and aging.

What Does Your 24/7 Look Like?

Wen:Time is really limited, so social life often has to come second.

On class days, I usually work out in the morning—six to seven days a week. After that, I attend morning classes, then either return home for lunch or eat the food I brought from home at school. Almost all my meals are cooked by myself.

If I have evening classes, I attend those; if not, I go to the lab to do research. I also conduct metabolic experiments, both to improve my health and to apply the latest research to myself in a real way.

Beyond academics, I allocate time to hobbies, reading, and student organizations.

I am a member of the Cardiovascular Diseases Student Associations Research Committee, and I have served as the one of the directors of the UFT Committee Student Network. In addition, I am a member of the Physiology Department's EDI Community .

I also train as a sprinter and compete in track and field. Every year, I go on several backpacking trips. I’m also currently working toward earning a private pilot’s license.

All of these pursuits, at their core, are just like science to me—they are all things I truly love.

What’s the Most Interesting Part of University Life?

Wen: I’ve found that I genuinely enjoy learning itself.

For some people, it might be independent living or the social life. For me, it’s about being able to study science.

To achieve anything meaningful in science, you also need to master many other skills—and I prefer developing these comprehensive abilities within a scientific context.

To be honest, science is my direction. I truly enjoy doing scientific research.

What Is Your Ideal University Experience?

Wen:I believe the ideal university experience is one where you fully utilize all the resources a school provides—truly making use of everything available.

At the same time, it’s about finding your own rhythm between academics, personal interests, and future planning.I feel that I’ve found that balance.

One thing I especially appreciate about the University of Toronto is how customizable the degree programs are. There is a great deal of autonomy, with many possible combinations of majors, minors, and certificates.

For me, four years of undergraduate study is simply not enough to learn all the science I want to learn, so I may pursue a fifth year.

After completing my undergraduate degree, I plan to continue my education by pursuing either a research-focused PhD or a Doctor of Medicine (MD).

In the long term, I hope to become a physician-scientist, a researcher, or potentially explore opportunities in private health or biotechnology entrepreneurship.

How Can Students Find Their Passion?

Wen:I believe the most important thing for university studies is you must truly love what you study.

If you’re not yet sure what your true passion is,choose a school and academic program that are flexible and allow for exploration—so you have enough freedom to try different fields before committing.

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