Elsa Yan

Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Member of Yale faculty since 2007

E-mail: elsa.yan@yale.edu
Web site: http://ursula.chem.yale.edu/~yanlab/Index.html

Research We are interested in understanding biological phenomena related to biomembranes at the molecular level.  We focus on protein folding at membrane surfaces and signal transduction across biomembranes through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Using techniques in molecular biology and chemical biology, we express and purify recombinant soluble and membrane proteins. We then apply second-order laser spectroscopy and biophysical methods to obtain thermodynamic and kinetic information to investigate structure and functions of the proteins.

Education
B.S. Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995
Ph.D. Columbia University, 2000
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley, 2000-2004
Visiting Fellow, HHMI, Rockefeller University, New York, 2000-2004
Research Assistant Professor, Rockefeller University, New York, 2004-2007

Honors
Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship, Hong Kong, 1994
First Class Honors for B.Sci., Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1995
Distinction for Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, 2000
Pegram Award for graduate research, Columbia University, New York, 2000
Petroleum Research Fund Award, American Chemical Society, 2009-2011
Starter Grant Award, Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh, 2009-2010
NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2010-2015

Recent Publications

E. Serebryany, G.F. Zhu, E.C.Y. Yan. Artificial membrane-like environments for in vitro studies of purified G-protein coupled receptors. BBA-Biomembrane, 2011, Invited Review, in press.

J. Liu, M. Liu, V. Mooney, A. Bhagat, J. Nguyen, & E.C.Y Yan. Thermal Properties of Rhodopsin: Insight into Molecular Mechanism of Dim-Light Vision. J. Biol. Chem. 2011, in press.

L. Fu, J. Liu, E.C.Y. Yan. Chiral Sum Frequency Generation Spectroscopy for Characterizing Protein Secondary Structures at Interfaces. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 8094.

L. Fu, G. Ma, E.C.Y. Yan. In Situ Misfolding of Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide at Interfaces Probed by Sum Frequency Generation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 5405.

J. Liu, M.Y. Liu, J.B. Nguyen, A. Bhagat, V. Mooney, & E.C.Y. Yan. Thermal Decay of Rhodopsin: Role of Hydrogen Bonds in Thermal Isomerization of 11-cis Retinal in the Binding Site and Hydrolysis of Protonated Schiff Base. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 8750.

G. Ma, J. Liu, L. Fu, & E.C.Y. Yan. A Vibrational Sum Frequency Generation Spectrometer with Broad Bandwidth Technology. Appl. Spectro. 2009, 63, 529.

Elsa Yan

Research Interests