PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Kevin Yip

Also known as Yuk-Lap (Kevin) Yip

Kevin Yip is a computer scientist and computational biologist whose machine-learning research studies gene regulation and disease. He earned computer engineering and computer science degrees at The University of Hong Kong, then completed a Yale PhD and postdoctoral training. At CUHK, he studied gene enhancers, received two honors in 2019, and coauthored a 2020 paper on the GEEK framework. He co-senior-authored a computational model for diabetic kidney disease in 2023 and a study of 3D chromatin in 2025. As of October 2026, he directs Sanford Burnham Prebys’ Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and holds the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Distinguished Chair.

Now at
Sanford Burnham Prebys

Timeline

  1. 1999–2010

    HKU degrees and Yale training

    He earns a B.Eng. in Computer Engineering at The University of Hong Kong in 1999 and an M.Phil. in Computer Science there in 2003. He completes a computer science PhD at Yale University in 2009 and works as a postdoctoral associate in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale in 2010.

  2. 2014

    An assistant professor at CUHK

    In 2014, he is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His bioinformatics work links computer science with biomedical research.

  3. 2017

    Enhancers and gene expression

    In 2017, he and his team study how enhancers relate to gene expression. They apply this work to identify three genes potentially related to liver cancer.

  4. 2019

    Two CUHK research honors

    He receives the Outstanding Fellow title from CUHK’s Faculty of Engineering and CUHK’s Young Researcher Award in 2019.

  5. 2020

    GEEK for gene regulation

    In 2020, he and his CUHK team develop GEEK, a Gene Expression Embedding framework that uses machine learning and natural-language processing to study gene-expression regulation. He coauthors the GEEK paper in Nature Machine Intelligence.

  6. 2022–2023

    Predicting diabetic kidney disease

    Sanford Burnham Prebys recruits him from CUHK in 2022 to expand its biomedical research capabilities. In 2023, he co-senior-authors a computational model that uses DNA methylation from blood to predict current and future kidney function in people with type 2 diabetes.

  7. 2025

    A 3D chromatin method

    In 2025, he is the senior and corresponding author of a Genome Biology study on 3D chromatin. The team tests a method to measure how secluded genomic regions are in 3D space and links their isolation to gene activity.

  8. As of October 2026

    Center director at Sanford Burnham Prebys

    As of October 2026, he directs the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Sanford Burnham Prebys and holds the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Distinguished Chair. His research applies machine learning to complex biological data.

Career

  1. NowSanford Burnham PrebysDirector
  2. From 2014Chinese University of Hong KongAssistant Professor
  3. 2010Yale UniversityPostdoctoral associate

Education

  1. 2009Yale UniversityPhD in computer science
  2. 2003University of Hong KongM.Phil. in Computer Science
  3. 1999University of Hong KongB.Eng. in Computer Engineering

From the biography.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Chinese University of Hong Kong. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes Yale University. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.
  3. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes Chinese University of Hong Kong. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.
  4. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes Yale University. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Yuk-Lap (Kevin) Yip, PhD sbpdiscovery.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Biology and Computer Science: A Match meant to be? cse.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. New AI Approach by CUHK Engineering Investigates Multiple Gene Regulatory Mechanisms Concurrently for the Advancement of Biomedical Research cse.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Bioinformatics: Turning experimental data into biomedical hypotheses, knowledge and applications cse.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Kevin Yip cse.cuhk.edu.hk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. New algorithm can predict diabetic kidney disease eurekalert.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Cutting to the core of how 3D structure shapes gene activity sbpdiscovery.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Qualcomm co-founder Andrew Viterbi gives $5 million to Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute to advance AI-powered research sbpdiscovery.org. Checked 21 October 2026.