Yigong Shi

Yigong Shi is a researcher in the field of protein X-ray crystallography.

Career
Dr. Shi, who received PhD in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University in 1995, has determined the crystal structure of several critical apoptotic proteins, including apaf-1, DIAP1, and the BIR3 domain of XIAP. He was the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor in the department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. In June 2008, he was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. However, he rejected the award upon resigning his position at Princeton University in order to pursue his career at Tsinghua University, Beijing, becoming the dean of life sciences there. In 2003, he was appointed a Chair Professor of Tsinghua's Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology. He was appointed Vice Director of Tsinghua's Institute of Biomedicine and Vice Dean of Tsinghua's Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology in 2007. He was appointed Dean of Tsinghua's School of Life Sciences (replacing the Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology) in 2009.

Awards

 * 2010 Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize
 * Irving Sigal Young Investigator Award, from the Protein Society
 * Searle Scholar Award
 * Rita Allen Scholar Award