Soojin Yi

Biography

Soojin Yi earned her BS from Seoul National University in Korea and her MS and PhD from the University of Chicago. During her PhD, she also studied at the University of Edinburgh. After a postdoc at the University of Chicago, she worked as a faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, during 2004-2021, where she rose the rank of Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor. Dr. Yi joined the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology of the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Professor in July 2021. Her research areas include genetics, evolution, epigenetics and neuroscience. Her scientific recognitions include being elected as an Alfred Sloan Fellow (2006-2008), and an AAAS fellow (2020).

Research

We study evolutionary questions using comparative genomic and epigenomic methods. A main research goal of the Yi lab is to understand how epigenetic regulatory mechanisms evolve and impacts phenotypes, such as gene expression, phenotypic plasticity, and diseases. A main project in the Yi lab is epigenetic evolution of human brains and its implication on neuropsychiatric disorders. To study this question, we compare genomes and epigenomes of human and non-human primates, using a variety of genomic and epigenomic techniques. Another main project of the Yi lab is a study of the white-throated sparrows, where a large chromosomal inversion is tightly linked to social behavior and plumage phenotype. This species offers an exciting opportunity to study molecular bases of complex social behavior and to link genotype to phenotype. We have been collaborating with Dr. Donna Maney’s lab at Emory University for several years on this project. In addition, we study genomics and epigenomics of model and non-model invertebrates. While we find similar epigenetic marks (such as DNA methylation) in genomes of many species, patterns of epigenetic marks (i.e., how DNA methylation is distributed in the genome) are tremendously diverse. Therefore, by studying functional consequences of epigenetic marks occurring in different genomic context, we can understand the regulatory grammar of the interaction between genome and epigenome.