I was drawn to the MIT Biology first year program because you to get to know your classmates in a formalized community that extends well beyond your graduate career. I chose the Cheeseman lab so I could combine cell biology and biochemistry to ask mechanistic questions about cell division. Everyone works on distinct but related projects, so I knew I would have an area within the lab that was mine. It’s both exciting and challenging because no one else is thinking about your projects to the extent that you are.