Yi Tang is a biochemist and professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles.[1][2] His research interests include the discovery, functional characterization, and engineering of natural product biosynthetic enzymes.[3] He was awarded the 2014 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry.[4]
From 2002 to 2004, Tang pursued postdoctoral studies at the Stanford University in the lab of Professor Chaitan Khosla. In 2004, Tang joined the faculty of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering the University of California, Los Angeles. His group's research has focused on studying the biosynthesis of natural products from Streptomyces and filamentous fungi as well as engineering enzymes that can be used for the production of pharmaceutical compounds. One demonstration of the latter approach has been his group's development of a biocatalytic approach for making the commonly prescribed lipid-lowering medication simvastatin.[6][7]