Innovation Fellow
Directors Office
James Yu, Ph.D., joined DARPA in January 2025.
His dissertation focused on human adaptation and acclimatization to high altitude and low oxygen environments, studying genetic and physiological changes in native highlanders in Nepal and Peru, and a probiotic intervention to improve lowlanders’ acclimatization to high altitude.
He is also an Army Reservist, where he piloted Black Hawks as a MEDEVAC pilot and Platoon Leader before transitioning to his current role as an Innovation Officer on the Medical & Biotechnology Detachment within the US Army Reserves 75th Innovation Command.
Education
- Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of California, San Diego
- B.S., Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University