Yudan Ren

Yudan is a Daphne Jackson Fellow at the University of Cambridge Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and Department of Pathology where she researches viruses with the aim of understanding the mechanisms of how human viruses cause birth defects in babies. Yudan was awarded this fellowship in 2023 after taking a 9.5-year career break to care for her family.

Yudan grew up in a small, remote village in China where nobody else had ever been to university. Yudan’s parents had no opportunity to finish primary school. “My mum decided to send me to a school at the nearby town when I was 9. She was laughed at because I was her daughter, not her son. She told me very early on: ‘If you work hard, you can achieve better than your brother. If you can pass the exams, even if I need to sell the dinner table, I will support you.’ These words have been my strength ever since. We overcame this: my parents supported me to their best; I kept trying my best at school and achieved excellence.”

Ever since the first day she stepped into a lab as a second-year undergraduate, Yudan has been drawn towards research. Her passion lies in answering questions to unravel the truth and to ultimately improve our understanding of science. Yudan had a difficult 1-year break from her undergraduate degree to care for her parents both diagnosed with cancer, but she kept going and completed a PhD in Virology at the University of Cambridge. Yudan went on to be awarded a Career Development Fellowship at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.

New responsibilities

When Yudan had her first child, the demands of an early research career meant she was forced to choose between having a family and an academic career. With her loss of both parents at a young age due to cancer, Yudan decided to take a career break for her young family which ended up lasting over 9 years.

During this time, she balanced being a full-time mum whilst maintaining an interest and curiosity for science. She attended seminars, symposiums and events wherever possible, kept in touch with her PhD mentor, and practised science writing by submitting scientific project proposals. Yudan found it challenging to re-enter the world of research, and it took her 4 years and 10 months of perseverance. During this time, she spoke to 39 principal investigators and worked at the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic UK response unit.

Re-establishing an academic career

In 2023, Yudan’s determination paid off when she was awarded the Royal Society Daphne Jackson Fellowship which supports those returning to research after a career break. Yudan took up this Fellowship at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge, where she researches viral congenital diseases. Her work is at the interface of stem cell biology and virology to study the unknown mechanisms of viruses which cause birth defects in newborns. By leading this project, Yudan aims to bring hope to families who are otherwise affected by the devastating effects of birth defects which often affect individuals for their lifetime.

Yudan still finds it challenging to juggle her role as a mother and scientist, but reflects that there are a lot of benefits, too. “For my current role, I particularly enjoy the fact that I work as both a mum and a scientist. It is a tricky balance as I cannot work at the lab as freely as before timewise, however, I believe I am more capable and a better scientist now that I am a mother.”

Drawing inspiration from others

Yudan highlighted the many role models that have been present throughout her life and have inspired her to keep going and pursue her passion, even through the many challenges she faced. Her father was her first role model; despite not finishing primary school, he taught himself engineering skills through books and daily life experiences, which he shared with Yudan as she grew up. Yudan has drawn courage and determination from her former colleague, Dr Richard Henderson FRS, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2018, and openly shared his experience as an early career researcher and how difficult it was to work on his ideas when almost all others disapproved.

Whenever she is struggling with the challenges of being a mother in science, Yudan looks to Professor Athene Donald FRS and Professor Dame Carol Robinson FRS, who both navigated research careers and family, especially Dame Carol who took an 8-year career break before successfully returning to academia.

Yudan encourages anyone who is interested in pursuing a STEM career to follow their passion: “I think the main reason I managed through is: I did not give up”.