Alexandria, VA, USA – The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) announced that Yingzi Yang is the recipient of the 2023 IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Basic Research in Biological Mineralization. Yang, from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA, was recognized during the Opening Ceremonies of the 101st General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 9th Meeting of the Latin American Region and the 12th World Congress on Preventive Dentistry, that took place on June 21, 2023, in Bogotá, Colombia.
Yang is Associate Dean for Translational Research and Professor of Developmental Biology at the Harvard University School of Dental Medicine. She received her research training in the United States and studied Wnt and Hedgehog signaling in early limb patterning at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, where she was awarded her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology by the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York.
After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in mammalian developmental biology and genetics in the laboratory of Andy McMahon at Harvard University, she joined the Genetic Disease Research Branch of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) as a tenure–track investigator in 2000 and ventured into the field of skeletal biology. She received tenure at NHGRI in 2006 and was head of the Developmental Genetics Section and a senior investigator of NHGRI. She was recruited by HSDM as Professor of Developmental Biology in 2014.
Yang is the recipient of the Vincent du Vigneaud Award of Excellence from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, the Postdoctoral fellowship award from the Cancer Research Fund of the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Foundation, the NIH Award of Merit, the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America’s Young Investigator Award, and the NIH’s Asian and Pacific Islander American Organization’s Outstanding Achievements and Merit Scholarship Award. Yang has published extensively and has made major contributions to understanding how cells communicate with each other to ensure proper control of embryonic development and physiological functions of the skeleton and liver. Her research has successfully bridged the discoveries of fundamental mechanisms with the characterization and treatment of diseases.
The IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Basic Research in Biological Mineralization is supported by Unilever Oral Care and is one of the 17 IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards and it is one of the highest honors bestowed by IADR. The award consists of a monetary award and a plaque, and is designed to stimulate, encourage, and recognize basic research in the field of biological mineralization.
About IADR
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit and private-sector institutions who share our mission. Learn more at www.iadr.org.