Penn State biology department remembers assistant professor Yifei Huang

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Eberly College of Science faculty, staff and students are mourning the loss of Assistant Professor of Biology Yifei Huang, who died on Oct. 16, 2023.

Huang joined the Department of Biology in 2019, where he studied how genomic variation contributes to human disease and evolution. Huang earned his doctorate from McMaster University and later joined the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow.

“Together with all of my lab members, and many from the greater Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory community who were touched by Yifei’s kindness and generosity, I am greatly saddened by the news of Yifei Huang's death,” said Adam Siepel, a professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Huang’s postdoctoral adviser. “Yifei was an absolutely brilliant young scientist, and he had an outsized impact on my laboratory as well as on many of our collaborators. Four years after his departure, we are still following up on the ideas he suggested. But in addition, he was a wonderful person — kind, generous and supportive, always quick to give credit to others and happy to remain behind the scenes as long as interesting science was moving forward. He was a role model for all of us, and he will be greatly missed.”

Faculty colleagues, graduate students and undergraduate students remember Huang as an excellent mentor and friend, as well as a passionate researcher and professor.

“Yifei was one of the first people I met here at Penn State and one of the first people who was truly my friend,” said Janine Kwapis, assistant professor of biology. “We took a grant-writing class together, and he gave my drafts very thoughtful and insightful comments, so it was perhaps not surprising that he was the very first person in my cohort to have a major grant funded. He was one of those people who was incredibly smart but didn’t have to remind you of that all the time — he was kind and supportive, and I very much regret that I didn’t spend more time with him when he was healthy. He will very much be missed, especially by those of us who started with him at Penn State. Sending my love to his family.”

“As a college, we are mourning the death of Yifei Huang who passed away peacefully after being diagnosed over two years ago with Li-Fraumeni syndrome and lung cancer,” said Tracy Langkilde, professor of biology and Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science. “When Yifei’s colleagues and friends share memories of him, the words ‘brilliant,’ ‘supportive’ and ‘kind’ are said over and over. Yifei was a talented researcher, a passionate educator and a wonderful person. I am so grateful to have had the chance to work with him. He will be sorely missed."

“Dr. Huang was an integral part of my grad school interview and decision process,” said Troy LaPolice, a graduate student in bioinformatics and genomics. “His helpful discussions and belief in me from day one, even before I applied, were extremely influential in my decision to come to Penn State. I applied and interviewed during the height of the pandemic in 2020-21. It was not easy, but Dr. Huang helped me feel comfortable with the process. Despite not being able to visit campus in person, he helped me realize that Penn State was in fact an excellent home for me in the years to come. When I arrived on campus in the fall of 2021, he was extremely welcoming, and I learned a lot in my rotation through his lab. In a short time, he had a huge influence on me as a student. He will be missed by me and the whole Penn State biology community.”

“Yifei will be remembered as a brilliant and kind person, who was respected by everyone and was a beloved mentor, collaborator, and friend,” said Beth McGraw, department head and professor of biology.

Huang is survived by his daughter, Eva, and his wife, Hui.