School of Life Sciences - Faculty - English - 西湖大学展厅-WUEH4副屏

FACULTY

Faculty

At Westlake, we welcome talented people, outstanding scholars, research fellows, and young scientists from all backgrounds. We expect to have a community of 300 assistant, associate, and full professors (including chair professors), 600 research, teaching, technical support and administrative staff, and 900 postdoctoral fellows in the future.

School of Life Sciences

By building world-class research programs and centers, the School of Life Sciences at Westlake University strives to pursue questions fundamental to our understanding of biology and disease, and to develop enabling technologies that advance human health and civilization. The school is dedicated to cultivating future leaders in biomedical research through an emphasis on multidisciplinary training in biology, chemistry, medicine, and engineering.

The School of Life Sciences plans to establish research programs in Biophysics and Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics and Developmental Biology, Neurobiology, Immunology and Microbiology, Systems and Synthetic Biology, Chemical Biology, and other related fields.

To facilitate research and training, the School of Life Sciences has established an Advanced Biomedical Technology (ABT) Core Facility and an Animal Resources Center. The ABT Core Facility is equipped with state-of-the-art research technology; including facilities for cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, light microscopy, genomics, metabolism, bioinformatics, and high- throughput screening.

Dean

Hongtao Yu

Dean

Professor Hongtao Yu received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Peking University in 1990 and received his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1995. Dr. Yu began his independent research career in 1999 in Department of Pharmacology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2004 and to Professor in 2008. He was the holder of the Serena S. Simmons Distinguished Chair in Cancer Immunopharmacology before joining Westlake University in December 2019. He now serves as the chair professor of cell biology and the dean of School of Life Science. Yu studies the cellular mechanisms that govern chromosome folding, integrity, and inheritance. His research has contributed significantly to the molecular basis of 3D genome organization and chromosome segregation.

Prof. Yu studies the cellular mechanisms that govern chromosome inheritance and integrity, focusing on understanding the spindle checkpoint and sister-chromatid cohesion—cellular systems and processes that ensure all chromosomes are properly segregated during cell division. Defects in these processes lead to genomic instability and aneuploidy, which can cause birth defects, premature aging, and tumorigenesis. Using a multidisciplinary approach, his laboratory has contributed significantly to the molecular understanding of chromosome segregation and genome maintenance. His research has highlighted general principles in cell biology and revealed exquisite spatiotemporal control of opposing activities during cellular transitions.

Prof. Yu is a recipient of the Damon Runyon Scholar Award (1999), Burroughs Wellcome New Investigator Award in Pharmacological Sciences (2000), Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (2000), Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar Award (2003), and W. M. Keck Distinguished Young Scholar Award (2003). He was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012 and Board Member of Chinese Biological Investigator Society (CBIS) in 2018.

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Faculty （Listed in alphabetical order by last name）