Nieng Yan

Professor Nieng Yan is a Visiting Professorial Fellow at the School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales (UNSW). She is also a founding Shirley M. Tilghan Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and previously served as a tenured professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Medicine (2007–2017). Her research focuses on structural and functional studies of membrane transport proteins, ion channels, and sterol-sensing mechanisms.

• B.S. in Biological Sciences & Biotechnology, Tsinghua University (2000)
• Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Princeton University (2004, under Prof. Yigong Shi)

Her work spans Structural Biology, Membrane Protein Biophysics, and Ion Channel Research, with key contributions to glucose transporters (GLUTs), voltage-gated sodium/calcium channels, and sterol-regulated protein complexes like SCAP-INSIG. She employs cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography to unravel molecular mechanisms of transport, inhibition, and disease-related mutations.

Her recent publications highlight structural advances in understanding glucose and monocarboxylate transporters, toxin interactions with ion channels, and cholesterol egress pathways. These studies often intersect with cancer metabolism (Warburg effect), cardiovascular disorders, and infectious disease (malaria).

Scientific accolades include the Young Scientist Award (2005), HHMI International Early Career Scientist (2012–2017), Protein Society Young Investigator Award (2015), Beverley & Raymond Sackler International Prize in Biophysics (2015), and election as a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences (2019).