Prof. Yigong Shi was admitted to Tsinghua University in 1985 and graduated in 1989 with a bachelor's degree. In 1995, he received his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics at School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, followed by his post-doctoral research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the U.S. During 1998-2008, he had served as assistant professor, associate professor, professor, and then Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Chair Professor at the Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University. In 2008, Prof. Yigong Shi declined an offer as an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and returned to Tsinghua University in 2008. He now serves as Vice President of Tsinghua University, Dean of Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, and Vice Chairman of the 9th National Committee of China Association for Science and Technology.

Prof. Yigong Shi's research has provided important insights into programmed cell death and regulated intramembrane proteolysis. His pioneering research on caspase activation, inhibition, and derepression markedly advanced mechanistic understanding of programmed cell death.

His major awards and honors include the Irving Sigal Young Investigator Award (2003), the Raymond and Beverly Sackler International Prize in Biophysics (2010), Outstanding Scientist Award of Hong Kong Qiu Shi Science and Technologies Foundation (2010), CC Tan Life Science Achievement Award (2010), Gregori Aminoff Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2014), Scientific and Technology Achievement Award of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation (2016) and Future Science Prize for Life Science (2017).