YANG Laboratory

Biophysics of Living Systems

People | Current Members


Principal Investigator

  • Qiong Yang, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biophysics

    CV

    About: I'm a physicist by training and have expertise in both theory and experiments. My scientific journey began as an undergraduate student at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) studying phenomenological particle physics. It inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. in physics at MIT, where I became fascinated with stochastic processes combining mathematical modeling and fluorescence microscopy at single-cell and single-molecule levels. I then expanded my research interests into systems biology and biochemistry as a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University to explore principles of robust developmental processes in early embryos. These interdisciplinary backgrounds have shaped my current research interests to integrate principles and tools from biophysics, systems and synthetic biology, and mechanobiology to gain a quantitative understanding of complex biological phenomena.


  • Postdoctoral Fellows

  • Gembu Maryu, Ph.D., Biophysics, April 2019-

    Education: Ph.D. in Cell Biology at Kyoto University
    About: Gembu came from Japan. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in cell biology at Kyoto University, Japan. He acquired a live cell kinase activity imaging and an ontogenetic technique in his doctoral course. Now, he is interested in the principle of accuracy of mitotic phase entry. In the Yang Lab, he aims to address this mechanism with the cell-free system, live cell imaging, and mathematical modeling.


  • Research Technician

  • Owen Blanchard, Biophysics, June 2023-

    Education: BS in Biophysics at the University of Michigan
    About: I came to the University of Michigan as an Ann Arbor native. As a part of my undergraduate research in the Yang Lab, I studied the role of cyclin B1 protein accumulation on the timing of mitotic entry in Xenopus laevis cell-free extracts. Since then, I’ve also taken interest in cell fate decision-making, tissue patterning, and soft matter physics of early Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Broad topics that intrigue me include complex systems, statistical mechanics, dynamical systems, and computational modeling. In my free time, I love to rock climb and make music with friends.


  • Graduate Students

  • Shiyuan Wang, Biophysics, May 2017- (Thesis Defense February 2024)

    Education: BS in Physics, University of Science and Technology of China


  • Minjun Jin, Biophysics, May 2019-

    Rackham Doctoral Intern Fellowship 2023

    Rackham Predoctoal Fellowship Award 2022

    Education: BS in Chemistry, LSA Honors Program, University of Michigan
    About: I was born in Zhejiang, China, and my academic journey led me here, the University of Michigan, where I completed my undergraduate studies in biochemistry. I’m now pursuing a PhD in Biophysics, with a keen focus on understanding early embryogenesis in Xenopus. In my spare time, I enjoy Pilates, watercolors, and snowboarding.

  • Usha Kadiyala, Biophysics, May 2019-

    NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) 2020-2023

    Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant 2020

    Rackham Merit Fellowship 2018-2020

    Education: BS in Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Michigan
    About: I come from a previous experience in the nano world. I extensively characterized organic and inorganic nanomaterials for antibacterial drug design and developed strong techniques in electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, AFM). Complex system fascinate me, and my current research interests are in cell fate decision making, biological information theory, and bioelectronic sensors. I study how clock oscillators couple in early Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and contribute to cell fate determination.

  • Derek Walker, Physics, October 2019-

    Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant 2020

    Education: BS in Physics, BS in Mathematics, Louisiana State University
    About: My name is Derek Walker, and I am a second-year PhD student in the physics department. I am from New Orleans, Louisiana, and I completed my undergraduate education at LSU pursuing dual degrees in mathematics and physics. My current interests involve understanding how zebrafish somitogenesis is regulated. More specifically, three areas of interest are the roles FGF and biomechanical factors play in regulating somitogenesis, as well as how the Notch and YAP signals are connected in somitogenesis. In my free time, I love to cook, play golf, and read One Piece and Dante's Comedia.

  • Chun-Yen Sung, Biophysics, May 2020-

    Rackham International Student Fellowship 2020

    Education: BS in Power Mechanical Engineering, M.S. in Institute of Nanoengineering and Microsystems, National Tsing Hua University (NTHU), Hsinchu, Taiwan
    About: I come from Taiwan and earned my master and bachelor degree from National Tsing Hua University. Inspired by observations of distinctive cellular responses through smallscale architectures in my previous experiences, I have always aimed to develop biomedical tools in my research career. My research interest includes cellular biomechanics, microfluidics, micro/nanofabrication, and biomolecular devices. I would like to use my mechanical engineering background to investigate the impact of mechanical forces on the segmentation clock in individual cells in zebrafish.

  • Franco Tavella, Biophysics, May 2020-

    Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship 2023-2024

    Rackham Doctoral Intern Fellowship 2023

    Excellence in Upper-Level Writing Prize in Science 2020

    Education: BS in Physics, Universidad de Buenos Aires
    About: In Argentina, where I was born, I struggled to choose whether Biology or Physics was my science of choice. Fortunately, I’m now in Michigan’s Biophysics program enjoying the best of both worlds. I believe that the most stimulating biology is quantitative, where modeling and experiments work side by side. Topics that always catch my attention are synthetic biology, statistical mechanics, complex systems, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, developmental biology, and dynamical systems. Currently, I’m looking for my research question, drawing inspiration from the exciting research topics at Yang’s lab such as cell cycle, development, oscillations, and more.

     

  • Liam Yourston , Biophysics, May 2022-

    NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP) 2023-2026

    Rackham Merit Fellowship 2021-2023

    Education: BS in physics with a biomedical physics concentration, BS in mathematics, University of Nebraska Omaha
    About: I grew up in La Paz, Bolivia where I developed an interest in learning physics and asking deep metaphysical questions. I used my newly gained physics knowledge in the field of nanomaterials working on fluorescence labeling of DNA with Ag nanoparticles. Over time I decided to dive into the world of biological research where I found Yang lab, and the study of oscillatory cell signaling systems. In this field I hope to better understand the connections between the molecular interaction networks and the observed mesoscopic processes in mitosis.

     

  • Yeonghoon Kim, Biophysics, May 2023-

    Education: BS and MS in Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology
    About: I came from South Korea, where I grew up and obtained a degree in physics. During my former academic pursuits, I was trained in some data analysis techniques inspired by statistical physics. As statistical physics has taught me, life can be unpredictable at times, as I now find myself studying living systems here in Michigan. My current studies focus on the dynamical facets of biomolecular circuits, with a specific interest in the precision-keeping mechanisms of cell cycle oscillations during Xenopus embryogenesis. I'm utilizing tools borrowed from systems and synthetic biology.


  • Undergraduate Students

  • Linyuan Li, Biochemistry, Jan 2024-

    Education: Current undergraduate student at the University of Michigan (pursuing honors thesis)
    About: I grew up in Beijing, China, currently an undergraduate student in the University of Michigan and major in biochemistry. I found it fascinating to explore cell development in both chemical and physical ways. I'm still learning to express my research interests in technical terms. Outside class I like skating, watching Case Closed, and Karate.




  • People | Alumni


    Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Meng Sun, Postdoctoral Fellow in Biophysics (October 2017 – October 2020)

    Education: Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry at Zhejiang University

    Next position: Research Scientist, Zymeron Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC.



  • PhD Graduate Students

  • Owen Puls, Graduate Student in Physics (May 2017 – June 2023)

    PhD Thesis: "Spatial Coupling of Biological Oscillators: Towards a Quantitative Understanding of Mitotic Waves".

    Next position: Bioimage Data Analyst at the Advanced Imaging Center, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, VA.

  • Zhengda Li, Graduate Student in Bioinformatics (May 2014 – May 2019)

    PhD Thesis: "Molecular Circuits of Biological Oscillators".

    Next position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, CA.

  • Ye Guan, Graduae Student in Chemistry (January 2014 – December 2017)

    PhD Thesis: "A Robust and Tunable Mitotic Oscillator in Artificial Cells".

    Next position: Clinical Pharmacokineticist at MedImmune, CA.



  • Undergraduate Students


    Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) (R25) Scholars:  


    Jesse Cisneros Solis (B.S. in Physics at UCSC), 2018 – 2019 

    Next position: Graduate student in Biophysics at the University of Michigan



    Undergraduate Honors Thesis Students:


    Owen Blanchard, Honors Thesis: "Effects of Suppressed Cyclin B1 Protein Accumulation on Timing of Cell Cycle Events in Xenopus laevis Cell-Free Extract". Biophysics (2023)
    Next position: Research Laboratory Technician Associate at the University of Michigan

    Shuangzhe Lin, Honors Thesis: “Investigations of Coupled Oscillators in Segmentation and Mitotic Clocks During Zebrafish Somitogenesis”. Biochemistry (2020)
    Next position: University of Pennsylvania Graduate School

    Suzie Kim, Honors Thesis: “The Development of a Zebrafish Cell-Free Extract for Cell Cycle Studies”. Biochemistry (2019)
    Alumni Outstanding Award, Honors Summer Fellowship. Next position: Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

    Minjun Jin, Honors Thesis: “The Reconstitution of Mitotic Oscillators in Artificial Cells Prepared from Xenopus Laevis Egg Extract” Chemistry and CMB (2018)
    Seyhan N. Ege-WISE Award. Next position: University of Michigan Graduate School in Biophysics

    Neha Bidthanapally, Summer 2018, The Wang Chu Chien-Wen Summer Research Fund Awards, Project: "Mitotic cycle study of Xenopus laevis embryonic cells".


    UM Honors Research Study: Daniel Khain, Patrick Michael Barnes (joined graduate school in Physics at UM), Aditi Jagadish, Varsha Kumar (joined Wayne State University Medical School), Mauricio Osuna Borges, Owen Blanchard (Biophysics 399, 2022)


    Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP):


    Anna Teralyn Beck, John Hyunmin Kim, Lucas Merritt, Nancy Wu, Sagar Amrut Patel (joined Medical school at Saint Louis University), Sruthi Sathyakumar (joined Diplomat Fellow 2016 at Hurley Medical Center), Qianlin Song, Alexander Addison Hadd, Bo Qu, Mark D Antosz, Abigail Guilliat, Caleb Joseph Kaczmarek, Patrick Joseph Lawton, Navya Arigapudi, Darren Young, Ali Darwiche, Aditi Jagadish, Daniel Khain, Sarah Graber, Kristen Marani, Jack Guo, Jenny Mei, Brendan P Mccarthy (Physics 415), Kathryn Suarez (BME), Jolene Iseler, Saad Shami, Sucharitha Dinakaran, Andrea Huang, Gregory Kondas

    Michigan Health Sciences Undergraduate Research Academy (MHSURA) Fellows:


    Neha Bidthanapally (2017), Wendi Wang, Lynn Kao

    NSF Summer REU Program:


    Madeleine Lu (Biophysics REU 2014, joined graduate school in U Houston), Joshua Skootsky (Physics REU 2014), Jack Martin (Interdisciplinary REU 2015, NSF future faculty fellow), Leah Shapiro (Biophysics REU 2015), Ben Zeman, Olivia Marita (2022 Interdisciplinary REU Program), Ernesto Flores (Biophysics REU 2022, awarded Barry Goldwater Scholarship 2023)

    Summer visiting students:


    Jin Qian (summer 2016, joined graduate school in Cornell), Weiguo Jing, Zhipeng Yao, Chenghang Zhang (joined graduate school in U of Maryland College Park), Yushan Yang (summer 2015, join graduate school in OSU), Shiyuan Wang (summer 2015, joined graduate school in U Michigan), Xuwen Liu (summer 2018, joined graduate school in École Polytechnique, France), Ran Chen, Zou Zhou, Yunkun Lin, Hongyu Liao (summer 2019, joined graduate school in Harvard), Yiyang Chen (joined graduate school in Washington University in St. Louis)

    High school visiting students:


    Lucy Duan, James Yang, Daniel Khain (joined UM for undergraduate studies in Physics in 2018)



    Awards and Fellowships to Yang Lab Trainees

    1. NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) - Liam Yourston - 2023 – 2026
    2. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship - Ernesto Flores - 2023
    3. Rackham Doctoral Intern Fellowship - Minjun Jin - 2023
    4. Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship - Franco Tavella - 2023 – 2024
    5. Rackham Doctoral Intern Fellowship - Franco Tavella - 2023
    6. Visiting Scientist Program at the Advanced Imaging Center at HHMI Janelia Research Campus - Usha Kadiyala (proposal of light-sheet microscopy for zebrafish live embryo imaging) - 2023
    7. Rackham Merit Fellowship - Liam Yourston - 2021 – 2023
    8. Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship - Minjun Jin - 2022 – 2023
    9. NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) - Usha Kadiyala - 2020 – 2023
    10. Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant - Usha Kadiyala - 2020
    11. Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant - Derek Walker - 2020
    12. Excellence in Upper-Level Writing Prize in Science - Franco Tavella - 2020
    13. Rackham International Student Fellowship - Chun-Yen Sung - 2020
    14. Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshops (RIW) - Biophysics Interdisciplinary Workshop ($5,000) - Usha Kadiyala, Jesse Cisneros Solis, Shiyuan Wang (Faculty Sponsor: Qiong Yang) - 2019 – 2020
    15. MBSTP Symposium 2019 Poster Award - Meng Sun - May 2019
    16. Rackham Merit Fellowship - Usha Kadiyala - 2018 – 2020
    17. NIH Microfluidics in Biomedical Sciences MBSTP Fellowship - Owen Puls - 2018 – 2020
    18. Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship - Zhengda Li - 2018 – 2019
    19. Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (R25) Scholarship - Jesse Cisneros Solis - 2018 – 2019
    20. ASCB Travel Award - Zhengda Li - 2018
    21. Seyhan N. Ege-WISE Award - Minjun Jin - 2018
    22. Alumni Outstanding Award - Suzie Kim - 2018
    23. Honors Summer Fellowship (for completing honors thesis in my lab) - Suzie Kim - 2018
    24. Wang Chu Chien-Wen Summer Research Fund Awards - Neha Bidthanapally - 2018
    25. American Indian “Future Faculty Fellows” - Jack Martin - 2014
    26. 3rd Midwest Single Molecule Workshop Poster Award - Zhengda Li - August 2014



    Presentations by Yang Lab Trainees

    1. Yang Lab CDB Breakfast Colloquia. A series of talks by PI and students featuring Yang Lab work. Feb 2024

      • From Molecules to Development: Biological Timing and Patterning (Qiong Yang)
      • Synchronizing Mitotic Timing by Waves (Yeonghoon Kim)
      • Mitotic Oscillator Precision Governed by ATP-Dependent Free Energy Dissipation (Liam Yourston)
      • Pescoid Morphogenesis, a Viscoelastic Exploration (Owen Blanchard)
    2. Usha Kadiyala (Poster), The International Society for Stem Cell Research ISSCR 2023 Annual Meeting, Vienna International Symposium, “Elucidating Principles of Development with Stem Cells”. Vienna, Austria. Dec 2023
    3. Gembu Maryu (Talk), American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2023, Boston, MA. Dec 2023
    4. Yeonghoon Kim (Talk), American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2023, Boston, MA. Dec 2023
    5. Gembu Maryu (Talk), 19th International Xenopus Conference Cambridge, MD. Aug 2023
    6. Liam Yourston (Poster), 19th International Xenopus Conference Cambridge, MD. Aug 2023
    7. Minjun Jin (Poster), 19th International Xenopus Conference Cambridge, MD. Aug 2023
    8. Usha Kadiyala (Talk and Team Project), Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) Course at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Dynamics of Self-Organization in Animal and Plant Development”. Jul-Aug 2023
    9. Usha Kadiyala (Poster), The International Society for Stem Cell Research ISSCR 2023 Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. Jun 2023
    10. Usha Kadiyala (Talk), American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2022, Washington, DC. Dec 2022
    11. Gembu Maryu (Poster), American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2022, Washington, DC. Dec 2022
    12. Owen Puls (Poster), American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2022, Washington, DC. Dec 2022
    13. Franco Tavella (Poster), American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2022, Washington, DC. Dec 2022
    14. Owen Puls (Poster), American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting 2022, Washington, DC. Dec 2022
    15. Usha Kadiyala (Talk), Center for Physics of Biology Function Student and Postdoc Symposium, NYC. Nov 2022
    16. Franco Tavella (Group discussion), Build-a-Cell Workshop #9: Stanford. Stanford, CA. Oct 2022
    17. Shiyuan Wang (Talk), Biophysics Annual Retreat, Ann Arbor, MI. Oct 2022
    18. Gembu Maryu (Poster), DCMB 10th Anniversary celebration and poster session, Ann Arbor, MI. Sep 2022
    19. Ernesto Flores (Poster), SACNAS Conference, Puerto Rico. Sep 2022
    20. Ernesto Flores (Poster), RISE Undergraduate Research Showcase, San Antonio. Aug 2022
    21. Olivia Marita (Talk), 2022 Interdisciplinary REU Closing Symposium, Ann Arbor, MI. Aug 2022
    22. Ernesto Flores (Talk), Biophysics and Physics REU Symposium, Ann Arbor, MI. Aug 2022
    23. Usha Kadiyala (Poster), Santa Cruz Developmental Biology meeting, Santa Cruz, CA. Aug 2022
    24. Usha Kadiyala (Spotlight Talk), Joint SDB-PASEDB Meeting Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Jul 2022
    25. Franco Tavella (Contributed Talk), 15th Annual q-bio Conference, Fort Collins, CO. Jun 2022
    26. Gembu Maryu (Spotlight Talk), 15th Annual q-bio Conference, Fort Collins, CO. Jun 2022
    27. Usha Kadiyala, 4th Annual Conference on Quantitative Approaches in Biology, Evanston, IL Mar 2022
    28. Franco Tavella (Talk), APS March Meeting 2022, Chicago, IL. Mar 2022
    29. Owen Puls (Talk), APS March Meeting 2022, Chicago, IL. Mar 2022
    30. Minjun Jin (Poster), Cell Bio Virtual 2021- Online ASCB|EMBO Meeting. Dec 2021
    31. Usha Kadiyala (Talk), Biophysics Seminar Series, Ann Arbor, MI. Nov 2021
    32. Minjun Jin (Talk), Biophysics Seminar Series, Ann Arbor, MI. Oct 2021
    33. Franco Tavella (Talk), Biophysics Annual Retreat, Ann Arbor, MI. Oct 2021
    34. Gembu Maryu (Talk), 2021 CCDC (Cytoskeleton and Cell Division Club). Ann Arbor, MI. June 2021
    35. Minjun Jin (Talk), Super-Duper Group Meeting (groups with shared quantitative biology interest across campus: physics, biophysics, math, and cell and developmental biology departments). Ann Arbor, MI. May 2021
    36. Franco Tavella (Talk), Super-Duper Group Meeting (groups with shared quantitative biology interest across campus: physics, biophysics, math, and cell and developmental biology departments). MI. May 2021
    37. Minjun Jin (Talk), Microfluidics in Biomedical Sciences (MBSTP) Symposium 2021. MI. May 2021
    38. Gembu Maryu (Talk), Biophysics Annual Retreat, Ann Arbor, MI. Aug 2020
    39. Jesse Solis, Biophysical Society (BPS) Annual Meeting, San Deigo, CA. Feb 2020
    40. Meng Sun (Talk), Biophysics Annual Retreat, Ann Arbor, MI. Aug 2019
    41. Owen Puls (Poster), 13th Annual q-bio Conference. San Francisco, CA. Aug 2019
    42. Shiyuan Wang (Poster), 13th Annual q-bio Conference. San Francisco, CA. Aug 2019
    43. Owen Puls (Talk), 2019 Cytoskeleton and Cell Division Club (CCDC). MI. July 2019
    44. Meng Sun (Poster Award), MBSTP Symposium 2019. Ann Arbor, MI. May 2019
    45. Owen Puls (Talk), Microfluidics in Biomedical Sciences (MBSTP) Symposium 2019. MI. May 2019
    46. Shiyuan Wang (Talk), Biophysics Annual Retreat, Ann Arbor, MI. August 2018
    47. Owen Puls (Talk), Biophysics Annual Retreat, Ann Arbor, MI. August 2018
    48. Chun-Yen Sung (Talk), BIRS workshop "Mathematical Approaches to Cell-Cell Communication and Collective Behaviours" in Banff, Alberta, Canada. July 2018
    49. Owen Puls (Talk), BIRS workshop "Mathematical Approaches to Cell-Cell Communication and Collective Behaviours" in Banff, Alberta, Canada. July 2018
    50. Zhengda Li (Talk), BIRS workshop "Mathematical Approaches to Cell-Cell Communication and Collective Behaviours" in Banff, Alberta, Canada. July 2018
    51. Shiyuan Wang (Talk), BIRS workshop "Mathematical Approaches to Cell-Cell Communication and Collective Behaviours" in Banff, Alberta, Canada. July 2018
    52. Zhengda Li (Talk), Cell Modeling Hackathons, Half Moon Bay, CA. March 2018
    53. Zhengda Li (Poster), 2018 Annual Winter q-Bio Conference, Maui-Grand Wailea, HI. February 2018
    54. Zhengda Li (Poster), 2017 Annual ASCB|EMBO Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. December 2017
    55. Zhengda Li (Talk), Biophysics Annual Retreat, Ann Arbor, MI. August 2017
    56. Ye Guan, Cells as Dynamical Systems Workshop, San Francisco CA. May 2017
    57. Zhenga Li, Cells as Dynamical Systems Workshop, San Francisco CA. May 2017
    58. Nigel Michki (Lightening Talk), 5th Midwest Quantitative Biology Symposium, Notre Dame, IN. April 2017
    59. Owen Puls (Poster), 5th Midwest Quantitative Biology Symposium, Notre Dame, IN. April 2017
    60. Shiyuan Wang (Poster), 5th Midwest Quantitative Biology Symposium, Notre Dame, IN. April 2017
    61. Ye Guan (Poster), 10th Annual q-bio Conference, Nashville, TN. July 2016
    62. Zhengda Li (Poster), 10th Annual q-bio Conference, Nashville, TN. July 2016
    63. Maddie Lu (Undergraduate Talk), Closing Symposium for the Interdisciplinary REU Program, August 2014
    64. Maddie Lu (Undergraduate Talk), Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), August 2014
    65. Zhengda Li (Poster Award), 3rd Midwest Single Molecule Workshop, Urbana, IL. August 2014
    66. Joshua Skootsky (Undergrad Poster), 3rd Midwest Single Molecule Workshop, Urbana, IL. August 2014



    News Archive

    • Oct 2022: Franco and Qiong attended at the Build-a-Cell Workshop #9: Stanford.

    • Jul 2022: Usha presented a spotlight talk at the Joint SDB-PASEDB Meeting Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, Vancouver, and a poster at the Santa Cruz Developmental Biology meeting, Santa Cruz, CA.

    • Jun 2022: Owen Blanchard joined us as an Research Laboratory Technician Associate! Welcome, Owen!

    • Jun 2022: Franco Tavella and Gembu Maryu each gave a talk at the 15th Annual q-bio Conference in Fort Collins, CO.

    • Jun 2022: Ernesto Flores and Olivia Marita joined us as summer REU students! Welcome, Ernesto and Olivia!

    • May 2022: Liam Yourston joined us as Biophysics graduate students. Welcome Liam!

    • May 2022: Owen Blanchard graduated with an honors thesis in our lab. Congratulations, Owen!

    • Apr 2022: Usha attended the 4th Annual Conference on Quantitative Approaches in Biology in Evanston, IL.

    • Mar 2022: Franco Tavella and Owen Puls each gave a talk at the APS March Meeting in Chicago.

    • Apr 2020: Usha received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship! Derek received a Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant! Franco received an Excellence in Upper-Level Writing Prize in Science! Chun-Yen received a Rackham International Student Fellowship! Congratulations to you all, Chun-Yen, Derek, Franco, Usha!

    • Apr 2020: Chun-Yen Sung and Franco Tavella joined us as Biophysics graduate students. Welcome Chun-Yen and Franco!

    • Sep 2019: Derek Walker joined us as a Physics graduate student. Welcome Derek!

    • Aug 2019: The Yang Lab (Owen, Shiyuan, and Qiong) attended the qBio 2019 Conference at San Francisco. Qiong is on the organizing committee; Owen and Shiyuan presented posters.

    • July 2019: Our research article "Building Dynamic Cellular Machineries in Droplet-Based Artificial Cells with Single-Droplet Tracking and Analysis" is published in Analytical Chemistry.

    • Apr 2020: Usha received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship! Derek received a Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant! Franco received an Excellence in Upper-Level Writing Prize in Science! Chun-Yen received a Rackham International Student Fellowship! Congratulations to you all, Chun-Yen, Derek, Franco, Usha!

    • Apr 2020: Chun-Yen Sung and Franco Tavella joined us as Biophysics graduate students. Welcome Chun-Yen and Franco!

    • Sep 2019: Derek Walker joined us as a Physics graduate student. Welcome Derek!

    • Aug 2019: The Yang Lab (Owen, Shiyuan, and Qiong) attended the qBio 2019 Conference at San Francisco. Qiong is on the organizing committee; Owen and Shiyuan presented posters.

    • July 2019: Our research article "Building Dynamic Cellular Machineries in Droplet-Based Artificial Cells with Single-Droplet Tracking and Analysis" is published in Analytical Chemistry.

    • May 2019: Zhengda defended his dissertation! Congratulations, Dr. Li!

    • Apr 2019: Dr. Gembu Maryu joined us as a postdoctoral fellow. Minjun Jin and Usha Kadiyala will join us as Biophysics graduate students. Welcome Gembu, Minjun, Usha!

    • Mar 2019: Our research article "μdroPi: A Hand-Held Microfluidic Droplet Imager and Analyzer Built on Raspberry Pi" is published in Journal of Chemical Education.

    • Jan 2019: Check out "the 2019 Winter Biophysics News" for work by Shiyuan.

    • Dec 2018: Our spotlight article "The Rise of Ultrafast Waves" is published in Dev Cell.

    • Sep 2018: Our research article "Reconstitution of Cell-cycle Oscillations in Microemulsions of Cell-free Xenopus Egg Extracts" is published in J. Vis. Exp.

    • Sep 2018: Owen received a Microfluidics Training Program Fellowship. Congratulations, Owen!

    • Jul 2018: The Yang Lab (Chun-Yen, Owen, Shiyuan, Zhengda, and Qiong) presented at the BIRS workshop "Mathematical Approaches to Cell-Cell Communication and Collective Behaviours" in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Everyone gave a talk.

    • Apr 2018: Our research article "A robust and tunable mitotic oscillator in artificial cells" is published in eLife.

    • Apr 2018: Minjun received the Seyhan N. Ege-WISE Award. Suzie received the Alumni Outstanding Award. Congratulations, Minjun and Suzie!

    • Feb 2018: Zhengda received a Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship. Congratulations, Zhengda!

    • Feb 2018: Zhengda presented at the 2018 Winter q-Bio Conference in Maui-Grand Wailea, HI.

    • Feb 2018: Suzie received the 2018 Honors Summer Fellowship. Congratulations, Suzie!

    • Jan 2018: Owen passed his preliminary examination and has been advanced to PhD candidacy. Congratulations, Owen!

    • Dec 2017: Shiyuan passed his preliminary examination. Congratulations, Shiyuan!

    • Dec 2017: Ye defended her dissertation! Congratulations, Dr. Guan!

    • Dec 2017: Zhengda presented at the 2017 ASCB Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.

    • Nov 2017: Our review article "Quantitative and synthetic biology approaches in understanding biological oscillators" is published in Quantitative Biology.

    • Oct 2017: Dr. Meng Sun joined us as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome, Meng!

    • Sep 2017: Qiong received a Sloan fellowship.

    • Jul 2017: Our research article "Incoherent inputs promote network robustness of biological oscillators" is published in Cell Systems.

    • May 2017: Ye and Zhenga attended the Cells as Dynamical Systems Workshop in San Francisco CA.

    • Apr 2017: The Yang Lab (Nigel, Owen, Shiyuan, and Qiong) presented at the 5th Midwest Quantitative Biology Symposium in Notre Dame IN. Qiong gave a talk; Nigel gave a lightning talk; Owen presented a poster.

    • Feb 2017: Owen Puls has joined us as a Physics graduate student. Welcome Owen!

    • Sep 2016: Shiyuan Wang has joined us as a Biophysics graduate student. Welcome Shiyuan!

    • Aug 2016: Qiong received an NIH MIRA Award.

    • Jul 2016: The Yang Lab (Ye, Zhengda, and Qiong) presented at the 10th Annual q-bio Conference in Nashville TN.

    • Dec 2015: Qiong received an NSF CAREER Award.

    • Aug 2014: The Yang Lab (Zhengda, Joshua, and Qiong) presented at the 3rd Midwest Single Molecule Workshop 2014 in Urbana IL. Qiong gave a talk and Zhengda presented a poster. Congratulations to Zhengda for winning a poster award!

    • Jan 2014: Our lab is officially launched. We're currently looking for talented graduate students and postdocs. Please stay tuned with us.