Biography
Dr. Yifan Yang completed his undergraduate studies at Yuanpei College of Peking University, where he studied both mathematics and life sciences, earning a bachelor's degree in life sciences. He obtained his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Paris (Paris V) in France, advised by François Taddei and Ariel B. Lindner. In 2019, he began his postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel under the mentorship of Uri Alon. He joined Westlake University in January 2025 as a principal investigator, with research interests focused on nonlinear dynamics in biological aging, statistical physics, and quantitative physiology.
Research
We integrate physics-style quantitative experiments and modeling to uncover systems-level principles in specific biological problems such as:
1. How biological robustness emerges from error-prone parts? (tissue homeostasis, cellular maintenance)
2. How individual robustness is eventually lost with age? (animal aging)
3. How populations maintain themselves despite individual failures? (cellular rejuvenation, evolution of life-history)
(1) Tissue Homeostasis and Healthy Aging
At the multicellular level, we ask how tissues remain robust for decades despite constant cellular turnover — and why this robustness eventually fails with age. We use mathematical models of damage dynamics together with multi-omics data to connect molecular changes to organ-level physiology. A central application is the development of biomarkers and “-omics clocks” that track biological age and predict health outcomes more accurately.
Besides these “clocks” and biomarkers that forecast health trajectories, we also aim to reveal biological mechanisms and principles behind them. To do this, we will combine interpretable physics-style minimal mechanistic models, with the predictive power of flexible machine learning models trained on the large biobank and cohort studies. These models provide a framework for identifying therapeutic targets, guiding interventions, and designing strategies to preserve tissue homeostasis and extend healthy lifespan.
(2) Quantiative Cell Biology of Damage, Maintenance and Rejuvenation
At the cellular scale, we study how individual cells maintain robustness in the face of stress and damage. Model organisms such as worms, yeast and bacteria, with their rapid life cycles, allow us to perform high-throughput, quantitative experiments. Using time-lapse microscopy, microfluidics, and automated liquid handling, we measure how organelles accumulate damage and how stress responses and cell cycle checkpoints operate in real time.
Our initial findings show that, despite underlying complexity, cellular damage dynamics can often be described by low-dimensional stochastic models. These models capture how diverse sources of damage interact to create emergent, universal laws of decline. By integrating experiments with theory, we aim to uncover why living systems can remain robust far longer than engineered ones, and what principles ultimately set the limits of cellular maintenance.
Representative Publications (*Corresponding authors)
1. Yang Y*, Mayo A, Levy T, Jarosz D, Alon U*.Compression of sickspan by interventions that steepen the survival curve. BioRxiv (2023 in revision forNat. Commun) doi:10.1101/2023.10.04.560871.
2. Yang Y*, Karin O, Mayo A, Song X, Chen P, Santos A, Lindner AB, Alon U*. Damage dynamics and the role of chance in the timing ofE. colicell death.Nat. Commun.14.1 (2023): 2209.
3. Yang Y*, Santos AL, Xu L, Lotton C, Taddei F, Lindner AB*. Temporal scaling of aging as an adaptive strategy of Escherichia coli.Science Advances(2019) May 29;5:eaaw2069S.
4. Yang Y, Song X, Lindner AB*.Time-lapse microscopy and image analysis of Escherichia coli cells in mother machines.Methods in Microbiology, (2016) Dec 1;43:49-68.
5. Izard J, Gomez Balderas CD, Ropers D, Lacour S, Song X, Yang Y, Lindner AB, Geiselmann J, de Jong H. A synthetic growth switch based on controlled expression of RNA polymerase.Mol. Syst. Biol.(2015) Nov 23;11(11):840.
Contact Us
Lab website: https://yifanlab.org/
We welcome young scholars interested in studying the principles of biological aging to join us. Applicants should send a cover letter, C.V. (mandatory), and a portfolio (optional, including publications, code, scientific illustrations, etc.) to the following email: yangyifan@westlake.edu.cn.
