Rao Yi, male, born in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province in 1962, is a biologist, a member of the Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, a tenured chair professor of Peking University, a professor and doctoral supervisor of Capital Medical University. He is currently the President of Capital Medical University, the Deputy Director of the Council of Peking University, the Founding Director of the Peking University-IDG McGovern Institute for Brain Research, the Founding Director of the Tsinghua University-Peking University Joint Center for Life Sciences, the Founding Director of the Beijing Brain Science and Brain-like Research Center, and the Founding Board Member of Westlake University.
Personal Circumstances:
In 1983, he received a bachelor's degree from Jiangxi Medical College (now Jiangxi Medical College of Nanchang University).
In 1985, he received a master's degree from Shanghai First Medical College (now Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University).
He received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco in 1991.
Work History:
Since 1991, he has been engaged in research in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Harvard University and the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
In 2004, he was appointed Deputy Director of the Institute of Neuroscience at Northwestern University.
In 2007, he returned to China full-time and served as Chair Professor and Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Peking University.
From April 2016 to November 2019, he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Science of Peking University.
In June 2019, he was appointed President of Capital Medical University.
Main Achievements:
He has been engaged in molecular neurobiology research for a long time, and has discovered that two eyes are in the same morphogenetic field during development, discovered that slit is a neurally directed protein, proposed a common molecular mechanism of somatic cell movement, discovered the central and peripheral mechanisms of struggle, and molecular control of courtship.
The concept of chemojunctionome (CCT) was proposed, covering all neurotransmitters, neuromodulators, neuropeptides and their receptors in the same animal.
He has published more than 10 research papers in international journals such as Nature and Cell.
In 2010, he was awarded the honor of "Influential Person in the Field of Science and Education for a Decade", was elected as a member of the Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences on December 18, 2020, and was awarded the Honorary Doctor of Science degree by Hong Kong Baptist University on November 20, 2023.
Social Contribution:
Professor Rao has participated in the reform and establishment of several scientific and educational institutions in China, including the establishment of the Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai (1999), the Shanghai Interdisciplinary Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2002), and the Beijing Institute of Biological Sciences (2004).
As one of the co-founders of Westlake University, he also served as the director of its Institute of Basic Medical Sciences.
He is one of the initiators of the China Future Science Prize (2016) and a co-sponsor of the Xplorer Prize (2018).
Since 2018, he has been a member of the Medical Committee of the Gairdner International Medical Awards.
School Profile:
Capital Medical University, referred to as "Capital Medical University", is a higher medical institution jointly established by the Beijing Municipal People**, the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Education. The school was formerly known as Beijing Second Medical College, which was established in 1960, renamed Capital Medical College in 1985, and Capital Medical University in 1994. The school is a key institution of higher learning in Beijing, and has been selected as a pilot university of the national "Excellent Doctor Education and Training Program" and a receiving institution for international students in China with the best scholarship in China. The school focuses on medical education, covering science, engineering, management, literature, law and other disciplines, and is committed to cultivating high-level medical talents, cultivating medical talents for the country and society, and building a healthy China.