Professor Yam’s major research interests include inorganic and organometallic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, photophysics and photochemistry, and metal-based molecular functional materials for sensing, organic optoelectronics and energy research. 

She was elected to Member of The Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2001 at the age of 38 as the youngest member of the Academy. 

She was also elected to the International Member (Foreign Associate) of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2012, Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences for the Advancement of Science in Developing Countries (TWAS) in 2006, Foreign Member of Academia Europaea and Founding Member of The Hong Kong Academy of Sciences in 2015.

Professor Yam obtained both her BSc with First Class Honours and PhD from The University of Hong Kong. After two years on the faculty at the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong (now City University of Hong Kong), she moved to The University of Hong Kong in 1990, rising through the academic ranks of Senior Lecturer (1995), Professor (1997) and Chair Professor (1999). She was Head of Chemistry for 6 years from 2000 to 2005, and became the Philip Wong Wilson Wong Professor in Chemistry and Energy in 2009 at The University of Hong Kong. 

She was the recipient of the State Natural Science Award (Second Class Prize) (2005), Huang Yao-Zeng Organometallic Chemistry Award of the Chinese Chemical Society (2018), Chinese Chemical Society - China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) Chemistry Contribution Prize (2014), Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress (2011), Croucher Senior Research Fellowship (2000/01), Hong Kong Fulbright Distinguished Scholar (2007), Bronze Bauhinia Star (2015) and Justice of the Peace (2019) of the HKSAR Government, Ten Outstanding Young Persons (Professional) (2002) and Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award (2008). Prof. Yam was the Laureate of 2011 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award. She has also received a number of international awards which include Josef Michl ACS Award in Photochemistry (2022), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Centenary Medal (2005/06), RSC Ludwig Mond Award (2015), Porter Medal (2020), Federation of Asian Chemical Societies Foundation Lectureship Award (2019), Japanese Photochemistry Association Eikohsha Award (2006), Japan Society of Coordination Chemistry International Award (2016), Asian and Oceanian Photochemistry Association Masuhara Lectureship Award (2016), UC Berkeley Seaborg Lectureship (2013), U Chicago Lee Lectureship (2016), U Paris 7 Lavoisier Lectureship (2016), KAIST Chemistry Distinguished Lectureship Award (2017), etc.

Professor Yam served as the Associate Editor of the SCI journal, Inorganic Chemistry, published by the American Chemical Society from 2008 to 2020. In 2020, she has taken up the role as the Chief Editor for Chemistry for a new premier international journal Natural Sciences, pubished by Wiley. Professor Yam also serves on the International Editorial Advisory Board of major SCI journals, such as J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem., Chem. Sci., Chem, Acc. Chem. Res., Chem. Rev., Chem. Soc. Rev., ACS Nano, ACS Cent. Sci., ACS Mater. Lett., Mater. Horiz. and many others.

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