Yin will be presented with the ACS Synthetic Biology Young Investigator Award at the Synthetic Biology: Engineering, Evolution & Design (SEED) conference in Manhattan Beach, CA on July 15, 2014. The award recognizes the contributions of a scientist who has made a major impact on the field of synthetic biology early in his or her career.
In addition to being a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute, Yin is an Assistant Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. His research lies at the interface of information science, molecular engineering, and biology. A core focus is engineering bioinspired programmable molecular systems, such as complex DNA structures that self-assemble and have a variety of potential applications — from enhancing molecular imaging techniques to disease diagnosis.
The ACS award is the latest in a healthy list for Yin. He has also received a 2010 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, a 2011 NSF CAREER Award, a 2011 DARPA Young Faculty Award, a 2011 ONR Young Investigator Program Award, a 2013 NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, and a 2013 NSF Expedition in Computing Award. He was also a Finalist for the 2014 Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists.