Ira and Ester Rosenwaks New Investigator Award

Min Yang, PhD

Dr. Min Yang is an Assistant Professor in developmental and stem cell biology. She established her independent research group in 2023 at the University of Washington, where she holds appointments in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM), and the Department of Genome Sciences. Her lab uses stem cell and animal models to study early human development and the molecular mechanisms underlying pregnancy failure and disorders affecting reproductive and maternal–fetal health.

Dr. Yang earned her PhD in Animal Reproduction and Development from Utah State University, where she studied oocyte and embryonic competence for somatic cell nuclear transfer (reproductive cloning). She completed her postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University, where she used stem cell-based embryo models to investigate lineage-specific responses to aneuploidy during early human development.

Her significant work includes the successful dissection of aneuploid cell fate in human embryo models, revealing that aneuploid cells are preferentially eliminated in the fetal lineage. Her lab also recently discovered that, contrary to traditional views, aneuploidy is highly prevalent in the placenta of healthy pregnancies and is likely regulated by lineage-specific mechanisms.

Previous recipients of the Ira and Ester Rosenwaks New Investigator Award:

2025 Min Yang, PhD
2024 Jennifer Kawwass, MD
2023 Kate Devine, MD
2022 Audrey J. Gaskins, ScD
2021 Amanda N. Kallen, MD
2020 Ranjith Ramasamy, MD
2019 Samuel Zev Williams, MD, PhD
2018 Michael L. Eisenberg, MD
2017 Helen G. Tempest, PhD
2016 Marla E. Lujan, PhD
2015 Erica E. Marsh, MD
2014 Jorge E. Chavarro, MD, ScD
2013 Nathan R. Treff, PhD
2012 Clarisa R. Gracia, MD, MSCE
2011 Lubna Pal, MBBS, MS
2010 Ayman Al-Hendy, MD, PhD
2009 Emre Seli, MD
2008 William H. Catherino, MD, PhD
2007 Elizabeth A. McGee, MD
2006 Anuja Dokras, MD, PhD