Yishi Jin 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.

Yishi Jin
Alma materBeijing University
University of California, Berkeley
Scientific career
InstitutionsHoward Hughes Medical Institute
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, San Diego
ThesisGenerating dorsal-ventral asymmetry in the Drosophila embryo : studies on the easter Gene and the polarizing activity (1991)
WebsiteJin Lab

Early life and education

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Jin studied cell biology at the Peking University.[1] She moved to the United States for graduate studies, where she worked at University of California, Berkeley.[2] After earning her doctorate, Jin joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral fellow.[3]

Research and career

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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.[4] Neural communication is mediated by axons that transmit electrical and chemical signals, which are received by receptor proteins.[5] She showed that the protein DLK1 helps these axons to find their way, through a series of specific chemical signals.[6] 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.[5]

Jin has investigated the nerve fibres involved with neuroregeneration.[7] During her investigations, she identified a new genetic pathway – the piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) – the is involved with the rehabilitation of neuron damage.[8] Jin believes that piRNA may be an effective therapeutic pathway, offering hope for the regeneration of axons.[8] She spent 2016 as a neurobiology resident at Aix-Marseille University, where she studied traumatic brain injury and the regulators that initiate axon regrowth.[9]

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 NFL Hall of Fame, who suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.[10] Jin was selected as the chair holder because of her research into the effective treatment and prevention of traumatic brain injury.[10] As an advocate for improving young people's access to science, Jin committed to using the position to advocate for K–12 education and better safety in sports.

Awards and honours

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Selected publications

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  • Shu, Xiaokun; Lev-Ram, Varda; Deerinck, Thomas J.; Qi, Yingchuan; Ramko, Ericka B.; Davidson, Michael W.; Jin, Yishi; Ellisman, Mark H.; Tsien, Roger Y. (2011-04-05). "A Genetically Encoded Tag for Correlated Light and Electron Microscopy of Intact Cells, Tissues, and Organisms". PLOS Biology. 9 (4): e1001041. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001041. ISSN 1545-7885. PMC 3071375. PMID 21483721.
  • Yanik, Mehmet Fatih; Cinar, Hulusi; Cinar, Hediye Nese; Chisholm, Andrew D.; Jin, Yishi; Ben-Yakar, Adela (2004). "Functional regeneration after laser axotomy". Nature. 432 (7019): 822. doi:10.1038/432822a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 15602545. S2CID 4372035.
  • Zhen, Mei; Jin, Yishi (1999). "The liprin protein SYD-2 regulates the differentiation of presynaptic termini in C. elegans". Nature. 401 (6751): 371–375. Bibcode:1999Natur.401..371Z. doi:10.1038/43886. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 10517634. S2CID 4422198.

References

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  1. ^ "People – Jin Lab". Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  2. ^ Jin, Yishi (1991). Generating dorsal-ventral asymmetry in the Drosophila embryo: studies on the easter Gene and the polarizing activity. OCLC 952235687.
  3. ^ "Horvitz Lab Website". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  4. ^ "Yishi Jin". biology.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  5. ^ a b "Biologists Uncover Details of How We Squelch Defective Neurons". www-biology.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  6. ^ "Neurobiologists identify an essential protein for axon regrowth in animal model". www-biology.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  7. ^ "Yishi Jin, PhD - Faculty Neurograd Program". UC San Diego Health Sciences. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  8. ^ a b "Discovery Offers New Genetic Pathway for Injured Nerve Regeneration". www-biology.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  9. ^ "Mediterranean exploratory of interdisciplinarity". imera.univ-amu.fr. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  10. ^ a b "Yishi Jin Named to Junior Seau Endowed Faculty Chair in Traumatic Brain Injury". biology.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  11. ^ "UCO Press Releases: 02-26-97". www.ucolick.org. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  12. ^ "Fellows Database | Alfred P. Sloan Foundation". sloan.org. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  13. ^ "The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: Recipient Details | NSF - National Science Foundation". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  14. ^ "Yishi Jin Named as Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science". www-biology.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  15. ^ "Neurobiologists Selected for National Awards". www-biology.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  16. ^ "American Academy of Arts and Sciences Elects Three UC San Diego Professors". ucsdnews.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  17. ^ "ASCB Names 18 Members as Its 2020 Fellows Cohort". ASCB. 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2020-09-29.