When we first joined the Cell Biology Undergraduate Program, it was a small community with maybe less than 20 students in total. Very few students within Cell Biology knew each other and not many outside knew of us. Still, we were very warmly welcomed by and became close with the amazing department and its faculty members. Our professors pushed strongly to expose their students to meaningful educational opportunities which we wanted to share and engage our community in. Furthermore, we wanted to promote a stronger sense of solidarity among Cell Biology’s undergraduates. This led us to founding the Undergraduate Cell Biology Students’ Association - with the mission to promote a culture of lab opportunities and enhance the social community of Cell Biology. The UCBSA began as a 3-person team in 2017, with two of us leading our first flagship events, a research info night and the Undergraduate Research Recruitment Night, and another student fundraising money for a graduation event. In 2018, the first UCBSA executive team was established and we began to expand upon our events and activities. The number of participants at these events grew and so did the number of students enrolled in our program. We have had the great pleasure of watching the UCBSA grow into a fully-fledged student community. Finally, we are confident that the UCBSA continues to uphold its values and mission for Cell Biology students.

To all students, welcome to Cell Biology!

Co-founders David He and Kazuki Ueda