Clone Cow Amy's Father-- Yang Xiangzhong

　　 Biography of Professor Yang Xiangzhong

　　Yang Xiangzhong was born and raised in a rural Chinese village. Upon his graduation from high school, he joined the labor force in his poor village initially as a herdsman, then as a "barefoot" veterinarian (a veterinarian who travels to various regions to treat animals), and later as the deputy mayor.

　　Upon the re-instatement of the national college entrance exams in 1977, Yang was admitted to Beijing Agricultural University's Department of Animal Science in 1978.

　　With a prestigious national fellowship, he came to the United States in 1983 and received his MS and Ph.D. degrees at Cornell University in 1986 and 1990 respectively.

　　Following a short postdoctoral training at Cornell University in the areas of animal biotechnology in 1991, Yang was offered a research scientist position (which he accepted) to become a principal investigator and program director in Cornell's Department of Animal Science with the responsibility of developing a vibrant extramurally funded animal biotechnology program.

　　In June 1996, Yang joined the faculty of the University of Connecticut as Associate Professor of Animal Science and Head of the Biotechnology Center's Transgenic Animal Facility. In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of full professor.

　　In 2001, the University of Connecticut made an unprecedented decision to create a new center (the Connecticut Center for Regenerative Biology) for Yang (with Yang being appointed as the center's founding director) with five new faculty lines for a total investment of over US$20,000,000.