Yun Kang is a co-director (with Professor Carlos Castillo-Chavez) of the Simon A. Levin Mathematical, Computational, and Modeling Sciences Center and an associate professor in the sciences and mathematics faculty group in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.

Kang obtained her bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from Shanghai Jiaotong University, China, in 2002 and her master's degree in mathematics from University of Arizona in 2004. She joined the Department of Applied Sciences and Mathematics as an assistant professor in 2008, immediately after completing her doctorate in mathematics from Arizona State University. Her  primary research interests are mathematical biology and nonlinear dynamical systems theory with applications in biology, life and social sciences. Her research has both theoretical and modeling components with empirical supports. The theoretical component is to study ecological and evolutionary dynamics of complex adaptive systems that are of interest to biologists, ecologists, and epidemiologists. The modeling component is to explore different modeling techniques, based on experiments or important hypotheses, to get a better understanding of quantitatively and qualitatively various aspects of biological/social behaviors, structures, and processes. She has published more than 30 articles in high profile journals of mathematical biology. Her current research on "Multiscale Modeling of Division of Labor in Social Insects" has been funded by mathematical biology program of the National Science Foundation.

Kang is actively involved in encouraging women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences. Since May, 2009, she has been a committee member on the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM) mentor network. She is also a member of American Mathematical Society, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Society for Mathematical Biology.