Anna Chao Pai (born 1935) is an American

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

and

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...

Biography

Anna Chao was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. Her maternal grandfather was the Northeast China-based warlord

Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin (; March 19, 1875 June 4, 1928), courtesy name Yuting (雨亭), nicknamed Zhang Laogang (張老疙瘩), was an influential Chinese bandit, soldier, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. The warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to ...

, who was assassinated by the Japanese in 1928. Following the

Japanese invasion of Northeast China The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden Incident. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. Their occupation lasted until the ...

in 1931, Chao's parents fled the region, first to Beijing where she was born, and then to the United States. They would make only one more visit to China together as a family, in 1939, and after the Communists won the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

in 1949, her parents had no further desire to return to their country of birth. She herself would finally re-visit the country first in 1985 and then in 1988, accompanying her husband on business trips, then finally on a family trip to

Shenyang Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...

and other sites important to her family in 2005. She enrolled at

Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a private women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in memory of her deceased daughter, Daisy. The college formally opened its doors in 1906 and granted the B.A. deg ...

, where she earned freshman and

Dean's List A dean's list is an academic award, or distinction, used to recognize the highest level scholarship demonstrated by students in a college or university. This system is most often used in North America, though institutions in Europe, Asia, and Aust ...

honors. and was known by the nickname Chips, Working part-time as a waitress, and playing on four varsity sports teams, she earned a B.A.degree in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at Sweet Briar (1957). She later earned a master's degree in

embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...

from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

(1959), and a Ph.D. in

developmental genetics Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...

from the Sue Golding Graduate Division of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1964) in New York, and worked as a researcher and professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey.(1969-1997) She served on the Board of Directors at Sweet Briar College from 1984 to 1992. During that tenure, she was responsible for the college to develop a College Honors Program and the Bachelor of Science degree. She also was responsible for the development of a College Honors Program at Montclair State University. She married David Pai (白先忠) in 1959 and the marriage lasted until 2016 when her husband succumbed to cardiovascular problems. Pai was a son of the

National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...

general

Bai Chongxi Bai Chongxi (18 March 1893 – 2 December 1966; , , Xiao'erjing: ) was a Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China (ROC) and a prominent Chinese Nationalist leader. He was of Hui ethnicity and of the Musli ...

, who had worked with her uncle Marshal

Zhang Xueliang Chang Hsüeh-liang (, June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also romanized as Zhang Xueliang, nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), known in his later life as Peter H. L. Chang, was the effective ruler of Northeast China and much of northern ...

during the Kuomintang

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

. In 2009 they moved to

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town located in northern Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, North Carolina, United States, on the banks of Lake Norman. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census, and in ...

Publications

She is the author of the genetics textbooks ''Foundations of Genetics: A Science for Society'' (

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...

1974, )written for nonscientists to inform them of the rising importance of the science of genetics for the general population. It was published in a second edition in 1985 . In 2009, she authored a science fiction novel, "Choices" about genetic engineering , Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc., under the pseudonym, A.C. White. In 2019 autobiography "From Manchurian Princess to the American Dream" was published by iUniverse.

Awards and recognition

* Outstanding Young Women of America, 1964 *

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

, 1972, Theta of Virginia chapter at Sweet Briar College *1995 Margaret and Herman Sokol Faculty Fellow Award at Montclair State College *Sweet Briar College "Distinguished Alumna", 1994 *Elected Charter member of Sweet Briar College Athletic Hall of Fame, 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pai, Anna Chao American geneticists Living people 1935 births Sweet Briar College alumni Bryn Mawr College alumni Albert Einstein College of Medicine alumni Montclair State University faculty Scientists from Beijing American academics of Chinese descent People from Davidson, North Carolina