Haifan Lin, newly named as the Eugene Higgins Professor of Cell Biology, is an internationally renowned stem cell biologist who directs the Yale Stem Cell Center, which serves as both an incubator for scientific discovery and a training ground for new investigators.
Lin’s work is focused on the self-renewing mechanism of stem cells, using Drosophila germline stem cells, mouse embryonic stem cells, germline stem cells, neural stem cells, and stem cells in Hydra as models. In addition, Lin studies germline development and cancers related to the malignant proliferation of stem cells.
Lin has made key contributions to the demonstration of stem cell asymmetric division, the proof of the stem cell niche theory, and the discovery of the Argonuate/PIWI gene family and their essential function in stem cell self-renewal and germline development, as well as the discovery of a novel class of non-coding small RNAs called PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), which was cited by Science Magazine as one of the 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2006. Currently, his research is focused on the role of piRNA-mediated mechanisms in regulating stem cell behavior and development.
Lin received his B.S. degree from Fudan University and his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University. Following postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, he joined the faculty of Duke University Medical School, where he rose to the rank of full professor. He founded and co-directed the Duke Stem Cell Research Program. Lin moved to Yale in 2006 to establish and direct the Yale Stem Cell Center. He also holds appointments as professor of genetics and of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences.
The Yale professor is a widely published contributor to peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Genetics, Genes and Development, Molecular Cell, Developmental Cell, among other publications. He has served on the editorial boards of Cell Stem Cells, the Journal of Cell Biology, Biology of Reproduction, Cell Research, Stem Cell Reports, National Science Review, and Science China, among other journals. He was a featured editor of Nature Reports Stem Cells, and led the effort to establish the journal Stem Cell Reports.
Lin has been recognized for his work with numerous awards and honors, including the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, the Laura Hartenbaum Breast Cancer Foundation’s Legacy for Hope Award, the National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award, the Ray Wu Award (the highest honor by the Chinese Biological Investigators Society), and the Society for the Study of Reproduction Research Award. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a council member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. Currently, he serves as the treasurer and member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.