Dr. Yu earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, in 2008. After holding research positions at NIMS and JST, she became the Team Leader of the Electron State Microscopy Research Team at RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in 2017. Starting in 2024, Dr. Yu concurrently holds positions as a Specially Appointed Professor at Institute of Science Tokyo, and as a Visiting Professor at Kyoto University.

Dr. Yu is driving fundamental and applied research in the field of topological magnetic materials, focusing on their emergent properties. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering achievement of being the first to observe nanoscale magnetic skyrmions using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy. Recently, she has made advancements in electron tomography to visualize 3D magnetic structures, successfully identifying previously unknown skyrmion strings and hopfions.

Dr. Yu serves as the principal investigator for multiple large-scale research projects, including the ongoing JST CREST project titled "Creation of New Topological Magnetic Science Aiming Beyond Skyrmions."

Major Awards: 20th Esaki Reona Award (2023), Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Science and Technology (2020), RIKEN Ohmori Award for Research and Development Achievement (2018), Nature Nanotechnology Prize (2015), and others.