Ya studied chemistry and obtained her bachelor's degree at the Shanghai University (China) in 2016, followed by receiving a master’s degree in biochemistry from the Stony Brook University in the United States. After completing the studies, she worked as technician in the field of cancer biology at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Since 2020, she is the lab manager of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroimaging at the ICPBR, CEBSIT, CAS in Shanghai, China.