Yi-Wei Chang, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics, is the recipient of the 2025 Michael S. Brown New Investigator Research Award. Established in honor of Nobel Laureate Michael S. Brown, a 1966 Penn School of Medicine alumnus, the Brown Award recognizes emerging faculty investigators engaged in innovative discoveries. Dr. Yi-Wei Chang is a pioneering structural biologist whose lab uses cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to study macromolecular machines directly inside cells, revealing their native conformations, interactions, and roles in complex processes like host-pathogen interactions. His work has illuminated mechanisms underlying malaria, toxoplasmosis, and cryptosporidiosis, while also enabling studies of diverse systems, from influenza RNA-protein assemblies to unfixed human brain tissue. As both a structural biology innovator and collaborative leader, Dr. Chang is transforming our understanding of infectious diseases and advancing in-tissue structural analysis with major translational implications. Learn more about Dr. Chang