When Chang Yang joined the Institute for Protein Innovation (IPI) in 2021, she was just beginning her career — and IPI was a small nonprofit lab still building its antibody production pipeline.
Now, she is a trusted mentor, a published author and on route to a doctorate program in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Looking back on her role as a key player on IPI’s Antigen Production Team, it’s clear Yang was part of a prolific growth phase, as IPI scaled up via automated systems, pushed out antibodies and set up an education program to teach the next generation of protein researchers.
“We have been trying a lot of new things since I joined,” Yang said. “New techniques, new transfections and new projects, which is very cool.”
Those initiatives, launched from a nonprofit that bridges academia and industry, have paid off. They have built a solid foundation for a vibrant, opportunity-filled future in the life sciences — and Yang is ready to make the most of it.
Early motivations
Her inclination toward bioscience is personal and deeply rooted. As a young girl in China, she spent her days under the care of her maternal grandmother. As her parents worked, Yang and her elder forged a close bond. Sadly, the connection was shattered when Yang’s grandmother passed away from cancer. Only a primary school student at the time, Yang was forever marked.
“I really wanted to get into biotechnology and develop therapeutics,” she said, “so one day we might be able to conquer cancer, and no one has to lose their loved ones.”
From her sadness sprang a fascination with the human body’s systems. The interest carried her, in middle school, on a journey through the scientific method and an eventual understanding of biochemical signatures of disease.
Later development
She then entered the biological sciences program at Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University in Suzhou, China, and earned a master’s degree in biotechnology at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.
Yang was exhilarated to move to Brandeis, situated firmly in the “heart of biotech in this country,” she said. Through the program, she deepened her technical skillset through classes and work experience, including an internship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
There, she worked in the lab of Laurence Rahme, studying the role of genetic mutations and testing inhibitors to understand the cytotoxic effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic bacterium frequently acquired by cystic fibrosis patients that can cause long-term lung infections.
A second internship at the small startup, AB Biosciences, introduced Yang to recombinant protein production and led to her first full-time job after graduation. The research associate role, “a good integration of molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry,” opened the door to the world of protein engineering — and IPI.
Entering protein science
Yang joined IPI in 2021 as a senior research associate on the Antigen Production team. “I got to solidify my protein expression, purification and characterization skills,” she said.
She directly contributed to the production of anti-integrins, anti-glypicans and other antibodies integral to axon guidance and synaptic cleft research. She also learned the essence of teamwork and publication writing.
Under the guidance of senior scientist Anita Ghosh, the team increased the rate of antigen production at IPI by more than 400 percent, leading to the creation of high-throughput workflows in partnership with Automation Team colleagues Christopher Lowe and Eloy Salinas. Yang also contributed to the development of a high-throughput method for ectodomain expression screening, which saves time and resources by enabling researchers to assess the performance of multiple constructs in a single experiment.
“Chang was instrumental,” Ghosh said. “She really worked very hard to get everything together.”
The effort resulted in their authorship of a book chapter intended for other labs to integrate the IPI methods into their own processes.
“I feel like, as a nonprofit, we should try our best to benefit the entire scientific community and share higher throughput methods,” Yang said. “It’s a very noble thing to do.”
Beyond the science comes the culture. Collaboration is a theme at IPI, and Yang enthusiastically embraced it. She shared her love for Studio Ghibli films by launching IPI’s Ghibli Club.
“If you like the people you’re working with,” she says, “I think it’s more likely you’ll generate better results.”
Moving forward
Now, on the cusp of a new life chapter, Yang said she will miss IPI deeply — especially Ghosh, “the best supervisor I’ve ever had. She will be the one I look up to in my future career.”
Boston, too, will continue to hold a special place in Yang’s heart, as she joins other IPI alums in Madison and its Integrated Program in Biochemistry.
Yang feels prepared for the challenges ahead and eager to explore biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology further. However, in the long term, she hopes to continue her work in protein science and biotechnology.
“My goal is to stay in biotech and become a scientist developing new therapeutics,” she said. No doubt she’ll make her mark.
Sources:
Chang Yang, cyang559@wisc.edu
Anita Ghosh, anita.ghosh@proteininnovation.org
Writer:
Caitlin Faulds, caitlin.faulds@proteininnovation.org
About IPI
The Institute for Protein Innovation is pioneering a new approach to scientific discovery and collaboration. As a nonprofit research institute, we provide the biomedical research community with synthetic antibodies and deep protein expertise, empowering scientists to explore fundamental biological processes and pinpoint new targets for therapeutic development. Our mission is to advance protein science to accelerate research and improve human health. For more information, visit proteininnovation.org or follow us on social media, @ipiproteins.