Yishi Jin

Yishi Jin (金亦石) is a Chinese-American neurobiologist who is a professor at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is interested in neural development and regeneration in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Jin is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and American Society for Cell Biology.

Early life and education Jin studied cell biology at the Peking University. She moved to the United States for graduate studies, where she worked at University of California, Berkeley. After earning her PhD at University of California, Berkeley, Jin joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral fellow.

Research and career In 1996 Jin was appointed to the faculty at University of California, Santa Cruz, and by 2003 she had been promoted to Professor. In 2007 Jin joined the University of California, San Diego as a Professor of Neurobiology. Jin has studied the communication of neurons, formation of synapses, role of neural circuitry in controlling movement and regeneration of axons. Neural communication is mediated by axons that transmit electrical and chemical signals, which are received by receptor proteins. She showed that the protein DLK1 helps these axons to find their way, through a series of specific chemical signals. At the receiver end, Jin has shown that the quality of neurons is evaluated by the EBAX-1 and hsp90, which serve to identify defects and fix any flaws. During her investigations, she identified a new genetic pathway – the piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) – the is involved with the rehabilitation of neuron damage. Jin believes that piRNA may be an effective therapeutic pathway, offering hope for the regeneration of axons.

In 2018 Jin was named the inaugural Junior Seau Endowed Faculty Chair in Traumatic Brain Injury. The position was established in honour of Junior Seau, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Jin was selected as the chair holder because of her research into the effective treatment and prevention of traumatic brain injury. 2000 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers 2003 Geisel Library Honored Faculty and Honored Books 2010 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 2017 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award 2019 Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2020 Elected Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology 2024 Elected Member of the National Academy of Medicine

Selected publications