Hello!

We had a great meeting today at the Asian Liver Center with the Team HBV Chapter Advisors.  I am thrilled to see the enthusiasm and commitment to the expansion and redevelopment of Team HBV Collegiate Chapters in the US.  Just a few years ago a few passionate students began the Team HBV Collegiate Chapters, which work in support of the Jade Ribbon Campaign, and since then they have flourished and grown with such leaps and bounds that the ALC and Team HBV Advisors are developing better communication plans and manuals to keep up with its expansion. We will be setting up a new Advisory Board, introducing the new Chapter Manual, holding our first Conference, developing a new and improved Team HBV Website, and even designing a new logo! What excitement! And thanks to our team of Interns at the ALC and the enthusiasm and dedication from our Advisors and other volunteers, we hope to see all of these improvements by the end of the summer.

Ying Ying, our Team HBV ALC Intern, has been making wonderful progress on the Team HBV Conference, which will be held at Stanford University this fall.  There are lots of logistical and planning components to organizing a successful conference and I have been really impressed with how the program has been coming together.  For all of you Team HBV Chapter Presidents out there, you are in for a real treat!

We will not only have our national chapters participate at the first Team HBV Collegiate Conference, but there will also be representatives from the Team HBV chapters in China (sometimes called Sunshine Volunteers).  They will have some interesting stories and projects to share with us all.  The 14 Chinese representatives will have the opportunity to spend a week in the San Francisco Bay Area learning about hepatitis B and liver cancer from Dr. Samuel So and other liver cancer experts, visiting screening and vaccination sites that are part of the SF Hep B Free Campaign in the city, meeting and hearing from our team of wonderful Stanford undergraduate academic year interns, and even having the opportunity to explore San Francisco sights and the Stanford University campus.

Keep up the great work, Team HBV!

All the best,

Alena