This summer, I was given the opportunity to be a part of UC LEADS (University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced DegreeS), a two-year undergraduate research program. UC LEADS offers a variety of benefits such as paid research experience in the summer at UCSB and throughout the academic year, participation in the UC-wide symposium, GRE preparation and so on. The most awesome benefit that UC LEADS offers, in my opinion, is the chance to participate in research at any UC campus of your choice during the second summer. This means you are not limited to work with the faculty mentors at UCSB, but faculty mentors throughout the UC system in STEM. How awesome is that!

My research interests are in the field of bioengineering. I have been looking at a few professors at each of the UC campuses. There are professors who are doing work in tissue engineering, stem cell research, and using liposomes to deliver drugs. All of their research seem so interesting! I would love to work with all of them. However, I have to choose one of them.

The visiting UC LEADS scholars from other UC campuses I met this summer were awesome and very excited to work with the professors at UCSB. I’m sure my experience at the other UC campus will be amazing too. I look forward to be have an awesome summer!

The picture of visiting UC LEADS scholars and UCSB UC LEADS scholars