Yu received her BBM degree in China in 2008 and, in 2019, gained her AAS degree at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa. In 2020, she started at the University of Iowa in the Department of Neurosurgery as a research assistant in Dr. David Hasan’s lab before moving to the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, working under Dr. Catherine Marcinkiewcz. In her free time, she enjoys attending workout classes, playing badminton, inventing new recipes, and spending time with her family.