Interested in joining the lab?
Undergrads: Reach out to Minya to see whether there are opportunities to get involved in the lab! | Visitors/Graduate students: Currently we are not actively looking for people in these positions. But if you see any funding opportunity and want to apply with Minya’s support, please definitely reach out! | Postdocs: If you know any postdoc fellowship funding opportunities, reach out to Minya and she’s happy to develop a proposal with you!
You can find our lab’s Expectations, Values, and Guidelines here.
Min Ya 闵娅 (she/her; ymin@illinois.edu)
(TMI, but… : Min is my family name and Ya is my first name. So in some contexts my name will be displayed as Ya Min (e.g. in publications) and it’s normal to refer to me as Ya (but that’s not my fav way to be called). Growing up in China, it’s very common for friends and families to call someone’s full name, so I decided to write my name as Minya so that people can call me the name that I prefer. )
Minya did her undergrad in Sichuan University (China) and Hokkaido University (Japan), obtained her Master’s degree in Uppsala University (Sweden) and University of Montpellier II (France), and got her PhD at Harvard University (USA). She loves all things plants & plant development, cooking & cocktail, playing piano, and all sorts of rock & indie music especially the heavy ones.
Link to CV and university faculty website here. Bluesky: @minyaaa.bsky.social (RIP academic twitter @_minyaaa)
Angelique Acevedo (she/her; aaa14@illinois.edu)
Angelique joined the Min Lab in 2025 as a Plant Biology Master’s student and will be studying the molecular basis underlying phyllotaxy transitions found in Mimulus. Before she joined the Min lab, she spent her undergrad at Cornell University, and post-grad at NYU, investigating the anatomical and developmental foundations for twining architecture in climbing plants. In her free time, she enjoys making pottery (and actually all arts ‘n’ crafts!), exploring the outdoors, and lazing around with her cat.
Angelique is a UIUC Equity Master Fellow.
Sam Pring (he/him; pring2@illinois.edu)
Sam joined the lab in 2025 as a Plant Biology PhD student and will be studying the functional evolution of CYC genes across flowering plants. Before he joined the Min Lab, he received his Bachelor’s in Biology and Linguistics at Bucknell University where he studied the evolution of signaling modality in fireflies, and went on to complete an NSF RaMP post-bacc at the University of Connecticut researching scorpion and plant genomics. In his free time, Sam enjoys baking, watching dramas, and learning about the grammar systems of various languages.
Sam is a UIUC Aspire Doctoral Fellow.
Jonathan Chai (he/him; chai11@illinois.edu)
Jonathan joined the Min Lab in 2026 as a Plant Biology PhD student and will be studying the molecular mechanisms of axillary bud activation and elongation in flowering plants. Before joining the Min Lab, he spent his undergraduate years at Cornell University studying the significance of floral microclimates in pollen viability and pollinator behavior. Following his undergrad studies, he also completed a botany internship with the National Park Service in New Mexico. A lover of global plant biodiversity and their unique morphological adaptations, Jonathan loves to go on botanizing trips and photograph plants in their habitats. In his free time, he also enjoys caring for his living botanical collection and doing landscape oil painting.
Jonathan is a NSF Graduate Student Fellow.
Yudi Liu 刘玉頔 (she/her; yudi@illinois.edu)
Yudi joined the Min Lab in 2025 as a postdoctoral research associate in Plant Biology. Her research focuses on uncovering the genetic mechanisms behind floral symmetry, using Mimulus as a model system. Yudi completed her undergraduate studies at South China Agricultural University. She later earned her Ph.D. from the Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where she explored the molecular basis of peach fruit ripening. A plant lover at heart, Yudi also enjoys music and spending time with dogs. In her free time, she enjoys nature journaling and unwinding with a good run.
Emma Corbett (she/her; emmac7@illinois.edu)
Emma joined the lab in 2025 as an Integrative Biology undergraduate student. She is also minoring in Health Administration. She hopes to attend med school after finishing her undergrad. In her free time, Emma enjoys baking, crocheting and watching various sports (mainly basketball and football).
Stephanie Marchan (she/her; Smarc@illinois.edu)
Stephanie joined the lab in 2025 an Integrative Biology major and undergraduate researcher on the pre-med track. She is passionate about science and driven to attend medical school.
Outside the lab, She loves giving back to her community, exploring new and random topics just for the joy of learning, and spending her free time crafting or playing soccer.
Mindy Yang (she/her; myang77@illinois.edu)
Mindy will be a sophomore in Fall 2026, majoring in Integrative Biology Honors. She looks forward to continuing on a research path after graduation. In her free time, Mindy enjoys arts and crafts, especially crocheting and working with oil pastels. She also loves gardening and exploring nature.
Alice Yu (she/her; aliceyu3@illinois.edu)
Alice joined the lab in 2026 and she is a student from the 2029th graduating class major in Environmental Science. She is originally from Shenzhen, China, enjoys doing sports such as tennis, bouldering, and sailing.