Runwen Yao, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral researcher with interdisciplinary training spanning cell biology, RNA biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and advanced imaging.
Ph.D. training with Dr. Ling-Ling Chen at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, focused on nucleolar organization and RNA-mediated regulation of nuclear condensates.
Currently a postdoctoral scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Michael K. Rosen at HHMI/UT Southwestern, investigating how mesoscale physical properties of biomolecular condensates encode biochemical function.
Appointments
2021 - Present
Postdoctoral scientist
Howard Hughes Medical Institute / Department of Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
Mentor: Dr. Michael K. Rosen
Education
2015-2021
Ph.D., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Thesis title: The nucleolar ultrastructure and pre-rRNA biogenesis
Thesis advisor: Dr. Ling-Ling Chen
2011-2015
B.S., Biotechnology, with Honors (Top 1%)
School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
Thesis title: Functional analysis of sno-lncRNAs in the Prader–Willi syndrome deletion region
Thesis advisor: Dr. Ling-Ling Chen and Dr. Limin Zheng
Selected Honors and Awards
2020
Ray Wu Prize
2020
Forbes China 30 Under 30
2019
CAS Pollyanna Chu Outstanding Doctoral Student Scholarship
2018, 2019
National Scholarship for Graduate Students (Top 0.2% in China)
2018
Selected Participant, 68th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting
2018
Outstanding Student Award, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Top 1%)
2015
Outstanding Graduate, Sun Yat-sen University
2014
Dr. Lau Wing Sang Outstanding Undergraduate Student Fellowship
2013
International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition — Gold Medal, with awards for Best New BioBrick Part, Best Model, and Best Wiki; Finalist and 2nd Runner-up
2012, 2013
National Scholarship for Undergraduate Students (Top 0.2% in China)
Selected Talks
2024
Short Talk (selected): Size-Dependent Functional Transitions in Actin Signaling Protein Condensates
Keystone Symposia, Breckenridge, USA
2023
Poster Presentation (selected): A Simple, Efficient, and Low-Cost Surface Passivation Method for Phase Separation Studies via Self-Assembled Monolayer
Department of Biophysics Retreat, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Sherman, USA
2022
Oral Presentation: Understanding How the Function of Biomolecular Condensates Scales with Size
Condensate Club, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA
2020
Oral Presentation (invited): Nucleolar Ultrastructure and Pre-rRNA Biogenesis
133rd Chinese Academy of Sciences First Author Forum, Shanghai, China
2020
Oral Presentation (invited): Nucleolar Ultrastructure and Pre-rRNA Biogenesis
Cytiva Cell Image Analysis Webinar, Shanghai, China
2019
Oral Presentation (selected; Excellent Report Award): Nucleolar Ultrastructure and Pre-rRNA Biogenesis
13th Symposium on Gene Function and Epigenetic Regulation, Shenzhen, China
2019
Oral Presentation (invited): Ultrastructure of Nucleolar Organization and Nascent Pre-rRNA Sorting in the Nucleolus
16th SIBCB Young Scholars Forum, Shanghai, China
2019
Poster Presentation (selected; Excellent Poster Award): Nascent Pre-rRNA Sorting via Phase Separation Drives the Assembly of Dense Fibrillar Components in the Human Nucleolus
20th Takeda Science Foundation Symposium on Bioscience, Osaka, Japan
2018
Oral Presentation (invited): Shedding Light on Nucleolar Structure by Super-Resolution Microscopy
1st Advanced Optical Microscopy Training Course of SIBET, CAS, Suzhou, China
2017
Poster Presentation (selected): The lncRNA SLERT Disrupts the DDX21 Ring Associated with Pol I Transcription
43rd Naito Conference, Sapporo, Japan