Jerry Yang, cloning pioneer and stem-cell advocate, dies
I’ve just read with sadness that Xiangzhong “Jerry” Yang of the University of Connecticut has died of cancer. Here are articles from the Associated Press and the Contra Costa Times. The most extensive piece is this excellent one in the Hartford Courant.
Jerry Yang was one of the first scientists that I spoke with after Nature Reports was launched just over a year and a half ago. His enthusiasm and advice were important in organizing the meeting where the leaders of what was to become the Stem Cell Network of the Asia-Pacific Region (SNAP) first publicly proposed its formation. I remember his patience as I struggled to understand some distinctions that are obvious to me now, and how valuable his review on therapeutic reprogramming of cloned embryos was to me as I wrote my first features for Nature Reports. I remember how passionately he worked to convince governments in China and Connecticut to support stem cell research.
His family, friends and colleagues have my warmest sympathies. The stem cell community will miss him.
