Yigong Shi

Dr. Yigong Shi received his B.S. from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China in 1989, with dual degrees in mathematics and biology, and his PhD in Molecular Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University in 1995. He currently holds an appointment as Dean of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University. Dr. Shi has led research investigating structural analysis of molecular mechanisms in apoptosis through an integrated approach that combines X-ray crystallography, biochemistry, biophysics, and cell biology. With others, he determined more than 36 crystal structures of important proteins and protein complexes that regulate the onset and execution of apoptosis. Shi's studies contribute an unprecedented level of mechanistic clarity to understanding of programmed cell death, from worm and fly to mammal. Dr. Shi's research investigating structural biology of signal transduction pathways involved in tumor suppression, and in particular the interaction between Smac and XIAP led to rapid development of small-molecule, anti-cancer drugs that are under clinical trials. His research has also enhanced understanding of other cellular processes, including signal transduction, protein-quality control by AAA+ proteases, regulated intramembrane proteolysis, and small-molecule membrane transport. He works to combine structural, biochemical, and biophysical approaches to reveal the three-dimensional features of molecular recognition and the biochemical and functional basis of regulation.

Shi has received numerous awards, including: the 2003 Irving Sigal Young Investigator Award from the Protein Society, the 2010 Sackler Prize in Biophysics, and the 2014 Gregori Aminoff Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In addition to his American Academy of Arts and Sciences Honorary Foreign membership, Shi is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Associate of the European Molecular Biology Organization. His articles appear in Cell, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, and Science.