Currently, Yi Tian is working with Professor Jamie Rossjohn and Dr. Hugh Reid, at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, in collaboration with scientists at Janssen Research and Development, exploring the molecular basis behind the development of rheumatoid arthritis, with special focus on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class II antigen presenting molecules.

Yi Tian completed her Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Associate Professor Alexander McLellan and Professor Robert Walker, at the University of Otago, New Zealand, where she investigated the role of soluble MHC class II in kidney transplant rejection. Her first postdoctoral position was in Professor Edward Baker's laboratory at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where she focused on protein crystallography. She has a keen interest in understanding how our immune system protects against microbial infection and also in how undesirable immune responses can lead to life- threatening conditions such as autoimmune disease and transplant rejection.