[5] In the United States, she completed her Ph.D. in Neuroscience(1989) at Harvard University under the supervision of MIT professor H. Robert Horvitz, where she endeavored to elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind programmed cell death in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
[2][3][6] Junying Yuan established an independent lab at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital in 1989, immediately upon completion of her Ph.D. [5] Her initial efforts were directed towards providing evidence for the functional role of caspases in mediating mammalian apoptosis.
[7][8] Her independent work at this stage provided the first insights into molecular mechanisms in mammalian apoptosis, which contributed significantly to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry won by her Ph.D. supervisor, Robert Horvitz.
Her work delved further into programmed cell death and revealed a wide cohort of proteins involved in the regulation and consequences of apoptosis.
In demonstrating a form of programmed necrosis, Yuan's work revealed new avenues of treatment for an ever-increasing cohort of diseases where necroptosis is implicated.