Yan Ning
Yan Ning | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 21, 1977 Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong, China |
| Other names | Nieng Yan |
| Occupation(s) | Structural biologist, professor |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Known for | Research on membrane transport proteins, including glucose transporter GLUT1 and voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels |
Yan Ning (; born 21 November 1977; also known as Nieng Yan) is a Chinese expert in structural biology. Since December 2022, she has held a professorship in life sciences at Tsinghua University. Before this, she was a faculty member at Princeton University from 2017 until 2022 and previously served on the faculty at Tsinghua from 2007 to 2017.
Early life and education
Born in 1977 in Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong province, China, Yan completed her undergraduate studies in biological sciences and biotechnology at Tsinghua University in 2000. She then pursued doctoral studies in molecular biology at Princeton University, earning her PhD in 2004 under the mentorship of Shi Yigong. Yan continued at Princeton as a postdoctoral fellow until 2007.
Her doctoral research on the structural and mechanistic aspects of programmed cell death earned her the regional Young Scientist Award for North America, jointly sponsored by Science/AAAS and GE Healthcare. During her postdoctoral tenure, she concentrated on elucidating the structures of intramembrane proteases.
Career
Yan began her academic career at Tsinghua University's School of Medicine and Life Sciences in 2007, achieving tenure by 2012. Her investigations centered on membrane transport proteins, notably the glucose transporter GLUT1 as well as voltage-gated sodium and calcium channels.
In 2017, Yan transitioned to Princeton University, where she was appointed the Shirley M. Tilghman Professor of Molecular Biology. This move attracted significant attention within China, highlighting systemic challenges in Chinese academia and insufficient support for innovative research. Yan has remarked that changing one’s professional environment can stimulate scientific innovation.
Her accolades include being named an HHMI International Early Career Scientist (2012–2017), receiving the Protein Society Young Investigator Award (2015), the Beverley & Raymond Sackler International Prize in Biophysics (2015), the Alexander M. Cruickshank Award (2016), the FAOBMB Award for Research Excellence (2018), and the Weizmann Women & Science Award (2019). She was inducted as a foreign associate into the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2019 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021. Additionally, she took on a visiting professorship at the University of New South Wales through its Strategic Hires and Retention Pathways initiative that same year.
On 1 November 2022, Yan declared her departure from Princeton to return to China as the inaugural dean of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation. She formalized her resignation in December 2022 to assume this leadership position. In March 2023, she was appointed director of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory. Further recognition followed with her election as a foreign associate of the European Molecular Biology Organization in July 2023 and as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in November 2023.
Personal life
Yan maintains a close friendship with Li Yinuo, whom she met during their time together at Tsinghua University.
Honors and awards
| Year | Awards |
|---|---|
| 2025 | National 8 March Red Flag Bearer (2024) |
| 2024 | L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards laureate |
| 2023 | Member, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Foreign Associate, European Molecular Biology Organization |
| 2021 | Foreign Associate, American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| 2019 | Foreign Associate, National Academy of Sciences; Weizmann Women & Science Award, Weizmann Institute |
| 2018 | FAOBMB Award for Excellence, Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists |
| 2017 | Wu-Janssen Award in Biomedical Basic Research, China; Teaching award, Tsinghua University |
| 2016 | Alexander M. Cruickshank Award, Gordon Research Conference on Membrane Transport Proteins |
| 2015 | Protein Science Young Investigator Award, Protein Society; Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Biophysics, Tel Aviv University |
| 2014 | Cell "40under40"; Promega Awards for Biochemistry; Cheung Kong Scholar, Ministry of Education, China; Ho Leung Ho Lee Award for Advancement in Science and Technology, China |
| 2012 | Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Early Career Scientist; Women in Science Award, China; CC Tan Award for Innovation in Life Sciences, China |
| 2011 | National Outstanding Young Scientist Award, China |
| 2006 | Young Scientist Award (North America Regional Winner), AAAS/Science and GE |
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1977 births
- Living people
- Chinese female biologists
- Alumni of Princeton University
- Faculty at Princeton University
- Alumni of Tsinghua University
- Biologists originating from Shandong
- Individuals from Laiwu
- Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Molecular biologists from China
- Foreign associates of the US National Academy of Sciences
- Educators based in Shandong
- Structural biology specialists
- Chinese nationals residing in the United States
- L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Award recipients
- Graduate Women in Science affiliates
- L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates