Ernest Everett Just was born on August 14, 1883 in Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Just graduated from Dartmouth College in 1907, earning a degree in zoology and special honors in sociology, botany, and history. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society and the only one in his class to graduate magna cum laude. After graduating, he took a teaching position at Howard University, where he headed the Zoology and Physiology Departments and taught in the Medical School. He began research at the highly acclaimed Woods-Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts under Director Frank Lillie. For his incredible work, in 1915, the NAACP awarded him with the first Spingarn Medal for Outstanding Achievement by a Black American. Although he was surrounded by his own successes, he decided to continue his academics studies. In 1916, he received his Ph.D. in experimental embryology from the University of Chicago. He later co-authored “General Cytology” with other revered scientists and even published a few books of his own. Serving as the Julius Rosenwald Fellow in Biology of the National Research Council, Just was able to continue his renowned research in Europe when racial tensions became unbearable in the States. Dr. Ernest Everett Just made great advances in our understanding of early physiological and biological development. His work disproved theories of many of the scientific pioneers of his time.