Yang Shi, member of the Oxford Branch of Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Professor of Epigenetics at the University of Oxford has been elected as a Fellow to the Academy of Medical Sciences. Election as a Fellow is typically reserved for scientists who have made “exceptional contributions to the medical sciences, either in the form of original discovery or of sustained contributions to scholarship” as stated by the Academy.
Professor Shi has made significant contributions to epigenetics, studying the chemical modifications made to DNA and its histone protein packaging in the cell’s nucleus. Of particular note, Yang’s 2004 discovery of the enzyme LSD1, which erases methyl marks from histones, changed the 40-year-old assumption that considered histone methylation irreversible. We are delighted that his achievements have been recognised in this announcement.
The full article detailing Yang’s achievement can be found at the Ludwig Cancer Research website.