Dr. Tano was born in the Ivory Coast and moved to the USA at the age of 15. He obtained a degree in Biology from the University of Michigan and subsequently his Ph.D. in biomedical Sciences with a focus on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases from the University of Toledo Medical College. Following his doctorate, Jean-Yves obtained an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship and moved to Berlin to begin a postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Professor Maik Gollasch at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. During his Ph.D., Jean-Yves focused on the role of TRPC3 channels on the balance between the survival and apoptosis of macrophages in atherosclerosis, an important determinant of the progression of lesions. His postdoctoral work focused on the role of Kv1.5 channels in the myogenic tone as well as trying to understand the genetic factors important in the development of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. He is, however also very interested in public and has thus been volunteering for the past year at the World Health Summit.