Haifan Lin PhD

Haifan Lin is a Professor of Cell Biology, Professor of Genetics, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, and Dermatology the founding Director of Yale Stem Cell Center. Dr. Lin’s work is focused on the self-renewing mechanism of stem cells, using Drosophila germline stem cells, mouse germline stem cells, mouse embryonic stem cells, Hydra, and planarian stem cells as models. He also studies germline development and stem cell-related cancers.

Dr. Lin received his B.S. degree from Fudan University (1982) and his Ph.D. degree from Cornell University (1990). Following his postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, he joined the faculty of Duke University Medical School in 1994, where he rose to the rank of Full Professor. He founded and directed the Duke Stem Cell Research Program (2005-2006) and moved to Yale in 2006 to establish and direct the Yale Stem Cell Center, building it from just two labs to currently one of the largest stem cell research organizations in the world with 100 member labs. With Yale's support, he was the Founding Dean (Adjunct) of the School of Life Science and Technology at ShanghaiTech University (2014-2022), where he established world-class faculty and educational programs in the School.

Dr. Lin received many awards and honors, including the Jane Coffin Childs Fellowship for Medical Research (1990), American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Research Award (1996), the March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Scholar Research Award (1996), the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (1996), the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Award (2007, 2011, 2015), the American Society of Andrology Lecturer Award (2008), the Laura Hartenbaum Breast Cancer Foundation’s Legacy for Hope Award (2009), the Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar Award (2010), the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (2010), the NIH MERIT Award (2012), the Ray Wu Award (the highest honor by the Chinese Biological Investigators Society; 2013), and the Society for the Study of Reproduction Research Award (2015), and the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, USA, Outstanding Science and Innovation Award (2019). He is a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences (2018-), a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2018-), and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010-).