People

Principal Investigator

Current Position:

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, College of Art and Science
Adjunct Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Health Sciences Center
Associate Director, Center for Computational Chemistry (C³)
UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center (UNMCCC) full member

Degrees:

Ph.D. in Biophysics, 2009, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Postdoctoral Associate in Chemistry, 2009-2012, Cornell University (PI: Prof. Harold A. Scheraga)
Research Associate in Chemistry, 2012-2017, Cornell University (PI: Prof. Harold A. Scheraga)
Research Scientist in Bioengineering, 2017-2018, University of California Merced

Honors and Grants(after joining UNM):

NSF CAREER Award, 2023-2028
SNL University Partnership Network Collaboration-Building Seed Funding, 2023-2024
INBRE RAIN Award, 2023-2024
NSF PREC Track 1, 2022-2025 (PI: Mark Walker - Experiments; Co-PI: Yi He - Computations)
The Autophagy, Inflammation, and Metabolism Center Core Capability Enhancement Award, 2022
NSF LEAPS Award, 2021-2023
The 2021 Summer Research for Faculty (SuRF) Award, 2021 & 2022 (Twice)
Research Allocations Committee (RAC) Award, 2020-2022
The Substance Use Disorders Grand Challenge Pilot Research Award, 2019-2023 (renewed twice)

Email: yihe (at) unm.edu

Graduate Students

Emily Hendrix

: Graduate Student
: PhD 2021 - Present

Honors:
2023 NSF-GRFP Awardee
2023 2nd Place LoboBITES
2023 ACS invited speaker

Emily is a graduate with a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Rollins College. She gained research experience that focused on the DEA of NO₂ and NO₂^-. She is currently interested in engineering proteins as biosensors to capture chemical compounds. Her goal after graduate school is to continue doing research for the pharmaceutical industry.

Yingfan Wang

: Graduate Student
: PhD 2023 - Present

Yingfan earned her Master's degree in Computer Science from the University of New Mexico. With experience in both Computer Science and Chemistry, she is interested in leveraging Machine Learning for protein design and drug discovery. Outside of the laboratory, her hobbies include baking and swimming.

Yan Chen

: Graduate Student
: PhD 2023 - Present

Yan Chen earned her Master's degree in Food Science and Engineering, with a major in Food Microbiology, from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology. She aims to delve into further studies and explorations of AAPeptides. Looking ahead, she aspires to establish her career in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Xinyu Xia

: Graduate Student
: PhD 2023 - Present

Xinyu Xia earned his Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology. His graduate studies primarily centered on drug design, utilizing molecular dynamics simulations. Now, his core responsibilities within his research group involve investigating the interactions between peptides and proteins. He optimizes and designs peptide structures through the application of molecular dynamics simulations. As he progresses through his PhD research, he aspires to gain a deeper understanding and enhance his skills in computational chemistry and structural biology.

Temair Shorty

: Graduate Student
: PhD 2024 - Present

Temair Shorty is a graduate student with a B.A. in Chemistry. She is interested in using computational methods to explore genomic and protein data. Eventually, she aims to create STEM opportunities for rural and Indigenous youth.

Undergraduate Students

Karen Contreras Hernandez

: Undergraduate Student
: Chemistry

Karen received her high school diploma from Volcano Vista High School in 2021. She is pursuing a B.A. Chemistry, a minor in Management and second minor in Family Child Studies, she is expected to graduate during the Summer 2024 semester. Karen joined Dr. He’s group in order to expand her research experience, learn computational chemistry concepts and explore project management/administration skills. She hopes to pursue a master's in business administration and have a career in scientific project management or healthcare administration. Outside of academics, she enjoys snowboarding, traveling and trying new restaurants.

Yi He Laboratory