Trained as a surgeon in China (1986), Dr. Yan obtained M.S. in Kinesiology in 1991 from University of Illinois and Ph.D. in Physiology and Cell Biology in 1995 from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He received his post-doctoral training in Molecular Cardiology between 1995-1999 at UT Southwestern and served as a Lead Scientist in the Alliance for Cellular Signaling led by Nobel Laureate Alfred Gilman between 2000-2002. Dr. Yan launched his independent research at Duke University in 2002 and served as a founding faculty at Duke-NUS Graduate School Singapore between 2006-2008. Dr. Yan joined Cardiovascular Medicine and the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center at University of Virginia in 2009. He has authored 115 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and serves as Vice Chairman for International Research Group of Biochemistry of Exercise (IRGBE), Associate Editor of Sports Medicine and Health Science (SMHS) and on the editorial board for American Journal of Physiology.