Shu-ou Shan

Shu-ou Shan is the Altair Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. Shan's research primarily focuses on protein biogenesis, tracing the complex molecular pathways that ultimately lead to the production of proteins in the body. It is a long and twisting road from the instructions provided by a genetic code to the creation of new proteins and the manifestation of biological effects. Much can happen along the way. Shan's research has delved into the various selection and triage mechanisms—these can be thought of as proofreaders and filters—that intervene to ensure that proteins are properly assembled and delivered to their correct locations.

Among Shan's honors and awards Shan are the American Chemical Society's Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry, the Mildred Cohn Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the National Academy of Science Award in Molecular Biology. She is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Shan earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland and completed her graduate work at Stanford University. After a postdoctoral position at the University of California, San Francisco, she joined the Caltech faculty in 2005 and was named a full professor in 2011.