September 15-19, 2025, is National Postdoc Appreciation Week. Since 2009, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) has sponsored this annual celebration to recognize the significant contributions that postdoctoral scholars make to research and scientific discovery. Check out the NPA website to view the virtual and in-person events being held this week. 

This week, BPS will be highlighting postdoc members on the blog. Today, read about Frank Yeh, Harvard Medical School.

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Background & Inspiration 

1. Can you tell us a little about your background and what brought you to your current postdoc position? 

I grew up on Long Island, lovingly raised by Taiwanese immigrant parents who had come to the US seeking higher education. My parents fostered a scientific curiosity in me – encouraging me to approach the library and try at-home experiments to answer my ceaseless “what-if”, “why”, and “how” questions. This curiosity continued in science research class offered at my grade school.  

In college, I joined the Preuss lab at CUNY Hunter College, a neuroethology lab studying environmental effects on fish behavior and neural responses. I was intrigued by the questions of how the nervous system takes input stimuli of the environment (internal or external) and outputs a reaction accordingly. This question of how biology performs these input-output calculations is one of my fundamental motivating questions I seek to find answers through my research. 

I continued my neuroscience studies in the graduate program at Institute for Neuroscience at University of Texas at Austin. However, I wanted to understand the foundational input-output computation performed by the nervous system – ion channel biophysics. Joining the Aldrich and Senning labs, I was captivated by how ion channels can transform different types of stimuli into electro-chemical signals. I studied how thermoTRP channels might integrate temperature signals for a conformational change (Yeh et al., 2023). I attempted a data compilation effort to generate a resource for people to generate hypotheses about sequence-structure-function relationships (bioRxiv: Yeh et al., 2025). I also utilized single ion channel electrophysiology to study how the voltage-gating mechanism in BK channels might be different from those of other voltage-gated channels. 

Following this trajectory, I wanted to expand my understanding of the effects of different stimuli on ion channel function. I also wanted to increase the scope in which I studied ion channels. In my current postdoc position in the Indzhykulian Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary, I study the proteins that contribute to the mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) current that allows the inner ear to hear and sense balance. Keenly, I’m interested in studying how calcium and length of proteins affect the biophysics of proteins proximal the mechanically-gated ion channels critical to our sense of hearing and balance. 

2. What inspired you to pursue research in your field? 

After studying how temperature (in brief), ligand-binding, and voltage elicit protein conformational changes in ion channels, I wanted to continue interrogating how different energies are transduced. Especially with the large interest of recent in mechanically-gated ion channels, I found the inner ear to be an exquisite specimen in which to study this phenomenon. 

Daily Work & Routine 

3. What does a typical day look like for you as a postdoc? 

In a mouse lab where timing is crucial but schedules are reflexive, I don’t have a typical day. On any given day, I could be honing my round window injections, performing dissections, or attempting patches from inner ear hair cells.  

However, as of recent, I’ve started to incorporate molecular dynamics simulations into my skill set. I will likely make checking on and initiating simulations a regular part of my daily “routine”.  

On more “free” days, I tend to help out around the lab with tasks like improving on the weekly lab meeting automation that I developed in grad school and have since adapted to my current lab. I’ve also tried to plan lab outings as well to encourage a sense of camaraderie amongst the lab members. 

4. Do you have a favorite part of your daily routine—or a task you look forward to most? 

Growing up in the Aldrich lab doing single ion channel electrophysiology, I love patching. I’ve carried that into my current postdoc position and look forward to patching at every chance I get. Although there is a steep learning curve between excised-patch electrophysiology in heterologous systems and whole-cell patching in hair cells, I learn something new every time I patch. And crucially, seeing the hair cells respond in real time makes my hairs stand on end in amazement every time. 

5. What’s one part of your day that people might find surprising or unexpected? 

As the Indzhykulian lab is broadly focused on proteins and protein complexes that influence MET channels of the inner ear, the lab is composed of specialists of all different techniques. One postdoc is an expert on tissue TEM and SEM, another on protein structure determination, and yet another on mice hearing behavioral, histological, and imaging techniques. One grad student is an injection wiz and a vestibular system expert, whereas a former grad student developed machine-learning tools for fluorescence and EM image analysis. A particularly impressive research assistant spearheads research in proteins commonly expressed in photoreceptors and hair cells. 

I think this great meshwork of different angles to tackle scientific questions is absolutely invigorating. As a member of the lab, I can get acquainted with all of these different techniques, understand their limitations, strengths, and crucially, use-cases to tackle different questions. 

Research & Impact 

6. Can you briefly describe your research project and why it matters? 

I am interested in how certain biophysical properties of the tip link proteins of hair cells affect the mechanical sensitivity of the MET transduction currents. 

Dysfunctions in vision, hearing, or balance heavily impede our normal lives. Mutations in these tip link proteins sadly can be the cause of these dysfunctions. Understanding how these tip link proteins biophysical properties can be manipulated could prove critical in our therapeutic attempts to delay vision loss or restore hearing and balance in some patient populations. 

7. What’s the most exciting discovery or moment you’ve had during your postdoc so far? 

The first time I dissected a cochlea. I was amazed by its intricate beauty. The delicate spiral and the ability to see the hair cells with only a dissection microscope is astounding (bioRxiv: De-la-Torre et al., 2024). 

The first time I imaged live mitochondria (for a separate project) I was captivated by the mobility of the mitochondria. 

The first time I observed and patched on a hair cell, in high fidelity seeing the stereocilia (the namesake of hair cells), targeting the cell for sealing on and breaking-in, followed by seeing the voltage-response of these cells. Awe-inspiring! 

Personal Touch 

8. How do you balance life in the lab with life outside of it? 

Making sure my family comes first is crucial. After 5 years of long-distance, I find it hard to not spend time with my wife. As an emergency resident, she has an inflexible and inconsistent time schedule. With the flexibility provided as a postdoc, I try to accommodate her schedule, while ensuring that my time in the lab is not severely impacted. 

At times, that can manifest in working odd hours; but as my wife graduates from her residency program, I believe I can better adhere to a regular schedule. 

9. What hobbies or activities help you recharge after work? 

Board games are my go-to. In particular, the cooperative nature of Spirit Island is one of my favorites. The difficulty is scalable and the replayability is unmatched. 

Video games are another place I personally find solace. Blowing off steam with some StarCraft II or joining in mining expeditions in Deep Rock Galactic, I can cope with those difficult days where things in lab just don’t work. 

I also enjoy hiking and kayaking. Those long hikes to clear the mind, surmount a peak, and trickle down with a creek or the kayak across a river or pond to see some wildlife are calming amidst the craze of life. 

10. Any fun lab quirks? 

I find that constant music is important to prevent building of my frustrations. Oliver’s “Just go with it”, Madeon’s Good Faith album, or any of Lemaitre’s funky songs are my favorites. Sometimes, the music transcends me and manifests in some audible vocal displays – I think to the amusement of my lab mates, and to the subject of some cellphone camera recordings. 

Advice & Future 

11. What advice would you give to someone just starting a postdoc? 

Your health is the thing that should be held sacred. As ambitious as we all are, I find it difficult to enjoy the process of science when one’s health is a consistent worry. 

12. Where do you see yourself heading next in your career? 

I hope that my next steps will be towards a professorship position at a research university. I love teaching and mentoring. Strangely, I find it comforting writing grants and thinking of different angles of attack to answer a specific question. I also hope to provide a home for graduate students and postdocs to foster their own scientific skills and make their mark on the scientific community for the good.