Yang Named Arkansas Research Alliance Fellow
Dr. Mary Yang, professor of information science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been named a fellow of the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) Academy.
ARA fellowships recognize scientists and engineers who reside at a university or institution in Arkansas for their ongoing, exemplary contributions to the state’s core research focus areas. Each fellow receives a $75,000 grant to advance their research vision.
“I am very excited to join the ARA Academy and deeply grateful for this opportunity,” Yang said. “I look forward to collaborating with ARA on research initiatives that benefit Arkansas and contribute to the advancement of knowledge.”
The ARA Academy was founded in 2016 to facilitate meaningful collaboration among some of the most prolific research leaders in Arkansas. The ARA Academy meets each year for face-to- face interaction, often leading to partnerships beneficial to the fields of science critical to the advancement.
“Each ARA Scholar and Fellow is a research powerhouse in their own right,” said Bryan Barnhouse, president and CEO of ARA. “Combined in partnership with the state and the researchers’ host institutions, the ARA Academy represents a collaborative juggernaut of research talent pursuing bold, interdisciplinary ideas to support statewide economic development.”
Also serving as director of MidSouth Bioinformatics Center at UA Little Rock, Yang received her bachelor’s degree in engineering and physics from Hunan University, followed by a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering, a Master of Science in Experimental Solid State Physics, and a Ph.D. in Computational Science and Physics from Purdue University. She completed her postdoctoral training in human genomics and bioinformatics at the National Human Genome Research Institute and conducted research as a Research Fellow at the same institution from 2008 to 2012.
Yang has also worked as a professional engineer in software engineering at Shenzhen Electronic Industry and Trade Co. from 1992 to 1995. She has certifications in NIH Post Doctor Completion, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Graduate Studies and Research from John Hopkins University. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Association for Computing Machinery, Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society, and MidSouth Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society.
She has received numerous awards for her academic and research achievements, including NIH Academic Research Enhancement Awards, the Engineering and Information Technology Faculty Excellence Award in Research, Innovative Research-Education Integration Award from the American Council on Science and Education, Best Research Paper Awards, and Outstanding Tutorial Education Awards from various conferences and societies.
Yang was among a cohort of seven new academics to join the ARA Academy, including John Imig of UAMS, Antino Allen of UAMS, Heather Nachtmann of the University of Arkansas, Igor Pogribny of U.S. FDA National Center for Toxicological Research, Grace Ramena of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and Jianfeng Xu of Arkansas State University.
