Yan Yu received her B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University (Beijing, China) in 2004. She pursued her Ph.D. degree in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign from 2004 to 2009 under the direction of Professor Steve Granick. Her research focused on lipid-based biomaterials and their interactions with nanoparticles and proteins. Subsequently, she started her postdoctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley with Professor Jay T. Groves and changed her research direction to biophysics of primary immune cells. She joined the faculty at IU in July 2012.

Research in the Yu laboratory is at the interface of materials, bioanalytical, and physical chemistry. The research vision is to quantify and control cell behavior with novel materials and chemical approaches. Specific research projects in the Yu group include: (1) self-assembly and interactions of lipid membranes; (2) biomaterials-cell interactions: develop biomimetic materials to manipulate cell behavior; and (3) cell-cell interactions: quantify how molecular interactions and dynamics in membranes determine cell functions.

Real-time Simultaneous Imaging of Acidification and Proteolysis in Single Phagosomes Using Bifunctional Janus Particle Probes Lee, S.; Zhang, Z.; Yu, Y.* Real-time Simultaneous Imaging of Acidification and Proteolysis in Single Phagosomes Using Bifunctional Janus Particle Probes, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, in press. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202111094 News coverage Individual development plans — experiences made in graduate student training Flood, A.H., Skrabalak, S.E. & Yu, Y. Individual development plans — experiences made in graduate student training. Anal Bioanal Chem (2021). Spatial organization of FcγR and TLR2/1 on phagosome membranes differentially regulates their synergistic and inhibitory receptor crosstalk Li, W.; Li, M.; Anthony, S. M.; Yu, Y. Spatial Organization of FcγR and TLR2/1 on Phagosome Membranes Differentially Regulates Their Synergistic and Inhibitory Receptor Crosstalk. Sci Rep 2021, 11 (1), 13430. Liquid-Phase Peak Force Infrared Microscopy for Chemical Nanoimaging and Spectroscopy Haomin Wang, Joseph M. González-Fialkowski, Wenqian Li, Qing Xie, Yan Yu, and Xiaoji G. Xu Analytical Chemistry 2021 93 (7), 3567-3575 Innate Immune Receptor Clustering and Its Role in Immune Regulation (1)Li, M.; Yu, Y. Innate Immune Receptor Clustering and Its Role in Immune Regulation. Journal of Cell Science 2021, 134 (4). Macrophage Activation on "Phagocytic Synapse" Arrays: Spacing of Nanoclustered Ligands Directs TLR1/2 Signaling with an Intrinsic Limit Miao Li, Haomin Wang, Wenqian Li, Xiaoji G. Xu, and Yan Yu, Macrophage Activation on "Phagocytic Synapse" Arrays: Spacing of Nanoclustered Ligands Directs TLR1/2 Signaling with an Intrinsic Limit, Science Advances, 2020, Vol. 6, no. 49, eabc8482. Membrane poration, wrinkling, and compression: deformations of lipid vesicles induced by amphiphilic Janus nanoparticles Wiemann, J. T.; Shen, Z.; Ye, H.; Li, Y.; Yu, Y. Membrane Poration, Wrinkling, and Compression: Deformations of Lipid Vesicles Induced by Amphiphilic Janus Nanoparticles. Nanoscale 2020, 12 (39), 20326–20336. Simultaneous Nanoscale Imaging of Chemical and Architectural Heterogeneity on Yeast Cell Wall Particles Li, W.; Wang, H.; Xu, X. G.; Yu, Y. Simultaneous Nanoscale Imaging of Chemical and Architectural Heterogeneity on Yeast Cell Wall Particles. Langmuir 2020, 36 (22), 6169–6177. Geometrical Reorganization of Dectin-1 and TLR2 on Single Phagosomes Alters Their Synergistic Immune Signaling Li, W.; Yan, J.; Yu, Y.* Geometrical Reorganization of Dectin-1 and TLR2 on Single Phagosomes Alters Their Synergistic Immune Signaling. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2019, 116, 25106-114. Tracking Single Molecules in Biomembranes: Is Seeing Always Believing? Yu, Y.-q; Li, M.; Yu, Y.* Tracking Single Molecules in Biomembranes: Is Seeing Always Believing? ACS Nano 2019, 13, 10860-68. Lipid Bilayer Disruption Induced by Amphiphilic Janus Nanoparticles: The Non-Monotomic Effect of Charged Lipids Lee, K.; Yu, Y.* Lipid Bilayer Disruption Induced by Amphiphilic Janus Nanoparticles: The Non-Monotomic Effect of Charged Lipids, Soft Matter 2019, 15, 2373-80. "Waltz" of Cell Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles on Lipid Bilayers: Tracking Single Particle Rotation in Ligand-Receptor Binding Yu, Y.-q; Gao, Y.; Yu, Y.* "Waltz" of Cell Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles on Lipid Bilayers: Tracking Single Particle Rotation in Ligand-Receptor Binding, ACS Nano 2018, 12, 11871-80. Selected as Editor's Choice. Read the full news article here @ IUNewsRoom Others News Reports: EurekAlert; Phys.Org; ScienceDaily; Bionity; Technology Networks; Nanowerk; Long Room; News Locker; QuantumTimes; BioPortfolio. Lipid Bilayer Disruption by Amphiphilic Janus Nanoparticles: The Role of Janus Balance Lee, K.; Yu, Y.* Lipid Bilayer Disruption by Amphiphilic Janus Nanoparticles: The Role of Janus Balance, Langmuir 2018, 34, 12387-93. Cargos Rotate at Microtubule Intersections during Intracellular Trafficking Gao, Y.; Anthony, S. M.; Yu, Y.-q.; Yi, Y.; Yu, Y.* Cargos Rotate at Microtubule Intersections during Intracellular Trafficking, Biophys. J. 2018, 114, 2900-9. Rupture of Lipid Membranes by Amphiphilic Janus Nanoparticles Lee, K.; Zhang, L.; Yi, Y.; Wang, X.; Yu, Y.* Rupture of Lipid Membranes by Amphiphilic Janus Nanoparticles, ACS Nano 2018, 12, 3646-57. Calcium Ion-Assisted Lipid Tubule Formation Jones, S.;† Huynh, A.;† Gao, Y.; Yu, Y.* Calcium Ion-Assisted Lipid Tubule Formation, Mater. Chem. Front. 2018, 2, 603-8. † Undergraduate researchers Single-Janus Rod Tracking Reveals the "Rock-and-Roll" of Endosomes in Living Cells Gao, Y.; Anthony, S. M.; Yi, Y.; Li, W.; Yu, Y.-q.; Yu, Y.* Single-Janus Rod Tracking Reveals the "Rock-and-Roll" of Endosomes in Living Cells. Langmuir 2018, 34, 1151-8. Seeing the Unseen: Imaging Rotation in Cells with Designer Anisotropic Particles Gao, Y.; Yu, Y.-q.; Sanchez, L.; Yu, Y.* Seeing the Unseen: Imaging Rotation in Cells with Designer Anisotropic Particles. Micron 2017, 101, 123-31. [Editors' Choice] Janus Nanoparticles for T Cell Activation: Clustering Ligands to Enhance Stimulation Lee, K. and Yu, Y.* Janus Nanoparticles for T Cell Activation: Clustering Ligands to Enhance Stimulation. J. Mater. Chem. B 2017, 5, 4410-5. Interrogating Cellular Functions with Designer Janus Particles Yi, Y.; Sanchez, L.; Gao, Y.; Lee, K.; Yu, Y.* Interrogating Cellular Functions with Designer Janus Particles. Chem. Mater. 2017, 29, 1448-60.