[5] During his graduate studies, he determined the crystal structure of several critical apoptotic proteins, including apaf-1, DIAP1, and the BIR3 domain of XIAP.

Shi Yigong was the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor in the department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University.

In June 2008, he was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

[7] In 2003, he was appointed a Chair Professor of Tsinghua's Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology.

[10] According to Shi, his father, Shi Huailin (施怀琳), was named after his mother Yang Lin (杨琳), who died 18 days after his birth, with 怀琳 literally meaning "remembering Lin.