Lily Jan facts for kids

Lily Yeh Jan (Chinese: 葉公杼; pinyin: Yè Gōngzhù; Wade–Giles: Yeh Kung-chu; born January 20, 1947) is a famous Taiwanese-American scientist. She studies the brain and nervous system, a field called neuroscience. She is a professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). There, she works closely with her husband, Yuh Nung Jan, in their shared science lab.

Early Life and Education

Lily Yeh Jan was born in Fuzhou, China. Her birth name was Yeh Kung-chu. Her parents were both accountants. In 1949, when she was two, her family moved to Taiwan. She grew up there.

She went to a top public school called Taipei First Girls' High School. This is where she first became interested in science. Even as a high school student, she loved physics. She was inspired by scientists like Tsung Dao Lee, Chen Ning Yang, and Chien Shiung Wu.

Jan studied physics at National Taiwan University. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1968. She then went to Caltech in the United States to continue studying physics.

Switching to Biology

After two years, in 1970, something changed. Her advisor, Max Delbrück, who won a Nobel Prize, inspired her. She decided to switch from physics to biology. This was a big change! She had to take a long, seven-day exam in biology. She had already passed tough physics exams.

Her research for her PhD focused on how light-sensing parts of the eye work. She also studied cell membranes. After Caltech, she did more research at other labs. She worked with Seymour Benzer at Caltech and Stephen Kuffler at Harvard Medical School.

In 1979, Lily Jan and her husband joined the faculty at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). They started a joint research group there. Since 1984, she has also been an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This is a special role that supports top scientists.

Amazing Discoveries in Research

After getting her PhD in 1974, Lily Jan and her husband, Yuh Nung Jan, took science classes together. This was the start of their amazing teamwork in science. They began working together in Seymour Benzer's lab at Caltech.

Their first big project was to study how nerves and muscles connect in fruit flies. They built special equipment to do this. This led to their first two shared science papers in 1976. They noticed something strange in a mutant fly called "Shaker." This fly had very strong muscle reactions. They wondered if this was because of its nerves or muscles. This question started their research into "ion channels."

Ion Channels and Neural Development

In 1979, the Jans became professors at UCSF. They set up their shared lab. They didn't have much money or space to start. But they loved the people and the atmosphere at UCSF.

In the 1980s, their lab worked hard to understand the Shaker gene. This gene is important for how "potassium ion channels" work. Think of ion channels as tiny gates in cell membranes. They control how charged particles (ions) move in and out of cells. This movement is key for how nerves send signals.

It was tough to study the Shaker gene. But in 1987, they finally succeeded in "cloning" it. This means they made copies of the gene. This allowed them to study how single potassium ion channels work. Their research also made big steps in understanding how the nervous system develops. They studied how nerve cells are formed and how they decide what they will become.

Since 1994, their lab has two main groups. Lily Jan leads the "function" group. This group studies ion channels and how they respond to brain activity. Yuh Nung Jan leads the "development" group. This group studies how nerve cells grow their branches, called dendrites.

Awards and Honors

Lily Yeh Jan has received many important awards for her scientific work:

• Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science (2017)
• Gruber Prize in Neuroscience (2012)
• Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2011)
• Albert and Ellen Grass Lecture, Society for Neuroscience (2010)
• Edward M. Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2010)
• Ralph Gerard Prize, Society for Neuroscience (2009)
• Elected member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007)
• Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America Presidential Award (2006)
• National Institute of Health MERIT Award (2006)
• Distinguished Alumni Award, California Institute of Technology (2006)
• K. S. Cole Award, Biophysical Society (2004)
• Stephen W. Kuffler Lecture, Harvard Medical School (1999)
• Harvey Lecture, New York (1998)
• Elected member, Academia Sinica, Taiwan (1998)
• Elected member, National Academy of Sciences (1995)
• 38th Faculty Lecturer Award, University of California, San Francisco (1995)
• W. Alden Spencer Award and Lectureship, Columbia University (1988)
• Klingstein Fellowship Award (1983-1983)
• Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (1977-1979)

Personal and Family Life

In 1967, Lily Jan went on a hiking trip in Taiwan to celebrate finishing college. On this trip, she met Yuh-Nung Jan. This was the start of their relationship. They got married in 1971 in a simple ceremony in Los Angeles. Afterward, they celebrated by camping and hiking in Yosemite National Park.

The Jans had their first child, a daughter named Emily, in 1977. Lily was still doing research right up until her due date! Just seven weeks after Emily was born, the family moved for their next research jobs at Harvard Medical School.

A few years later, they started their own research group at UCSF. In 1984, they had their second child, a son named Max. They named him after their shared PhD advisor, Max Delbrück.

The Jans made sure that one parent was always home with their children. They rarely attended science meetings together until their kids went to college. Outside of the lab, they still love hiking, exploring, and being in nature. In 2011, they achieved a lifelong dream: seeing Mount Everest from its base camp in Tibet!