Hui Yang

​​Postdoctoral Research Associate
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Hui Yang

Dr. Yang received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2019 and joined Dr. Solange Duhamel’s lab in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department. His research interests span broadly across freshwater ecology, evolutionary, and developmental biology. In his current project, he is interested in exploring a unique symbiosis between the embryos of spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum and green alga Oophila amblystomatis. The algae proliferate inside the salamander eggs and provide the embryo supplementary oxygen during its development. Recent discoveries show algal presence inside the embryonic cells. Such intracellular mutualism (or commensalism, one of his research goals is to determine the nature of this symbiosis) has never been reported between vertebrate and algal cells. He will be using isotope labeling and amplicon sequencing to investigate the material exchange between the algae and the host cells, as well as the influence of the algal symbiont upon the microbiome community inside the salamander egg capsules.

In addition to research, Dr. Yang is also passionate about teaching. He comes to the University of Arizona with a few years of TA experiences when he was a graduate student and enjoyed it very much. Here at UofA, he is taking every opportunity to develop my teaching skills and prepare himself for a faculty career in academia. Through various events and seminars hosted by the CIRTL and the Office of Postdoc Affairs, Dr. Yang is learning about developing his teaching pedagogy, encouraging active learning, and promoting an inclusive learning community. As a CIRTL postdoc pathway fellow, he is excited to co-teach a course in Spring 2022 under the guidance of a faculty member skilled in evidence-based teaching.