BABS Professor Rob Yang speaks candidly with the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB) on his scientific and personal journey to where he is today.
Rob covers questions ranging from what interested him about lipids, his biggest challenges, biggest influences, favourite hobbies and conducting research across three continents over his career. You can read the full article by Senior Editor of JCB, Dr Melinda Casadio, here. Congratulations, Rob!
'Hongyuan Yang grew up in a small city east of Beijing, China. From his childhood, Hongyuan recalls that “food was not abundant, so I was hungry at times, but education was free and good.” Driven by his curiosity for science, after completing his undergraduate studies at Peking University Health Science Center, China, he enrolled at Columbia University, NY, for his doctoral training. Under the guidance of his advisor, Dr. Stephen Sturley, Hongyuan studied lipids in budding yeast. The laboratory’s research department fostered a strong interest in lipids and atherosclerosis, and after earning his PhD, Hongyuan obtained a faculty position at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1999. In 2007, he moved to the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, to continue his scientific journey exploring lipids. We contacted Hongyuan to learn more about his career and interests.'