Congratulations to two 2021 Lee Lab graduates, Christina Mong and Maya Matsumoto, who were recognized this Spring for their achievements during their undergraduate years at Western! Both graduates, along with several other members of the Lee Lab, contributed to the recent Lee Lab publication.

Outstanding Graduate of Biology, Christina, majored in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Outside of her time in the Lee Lab, where she conducted many experiments and presented research at a molecular biology conference, she was involved in various diversity efforts for the Biology Department and College of Science and Engineering. Christina represented the department as a Biology Ambassador with the Natasha Hessami Student Ambassador Program for two years. In this role, her leadership was evident as she acted as a liason between students and faculty and advocated for equity and diversity in biology and STEM.

Maya received the 2021 Biology Undergraduate Research Award for her work in the Lee Lab during the past year. She was recognized for her work and leadership as part of several projects with the lab and contributions to the lab’s science outreach. This included her presentation at the 2020 SACNAS conference on molecular visuals and science communication, and future presentation at the 2021 SACNAS conference on her work to improve a code used by the Lee Lab for quantifying extrusion bodies during image analysis.