Speaker

MD/PhD, Psychiatrist/Professor, Director of the Brain Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Institute of Neuroscience of Zhejiang University, Chairman of the School of Medicine Council and Vice President of Zhejiang University. Graduated from the former First Military Medical University, Prof. Li received his bachelor’s and a doctoral degree in medicine. Previously, he served as Assistant Dean of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Vice President of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Executive Dean of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, etc. Prof. Li has been engaged in teaching, scientific research and clinical work of mental diseases for a long time, focusing on understanding the circuit and molecular mechanisms underlying the emotions and related disorders, in identifying targets to develop therapeutic strategies for treating psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression disorders. He is the chief scientist of the Major Project of the National Natural Science Foundation “Mechanisms and Clinical Translation of Anxiety Disorder” and the Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology “Research on the Neural Circuit Mechanism of Fear Emotion”. Representative papers have been published in Cell, Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, Biological Psychiatry, etc. He also obtained a number of invention patents such as diagnostic kit for depression. Prof. Li has received the National Distinguished Youth Fund. His numerous honors include the First Prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology, the Tan Jiazhen Life Scientific Innovation Award, the Wu-Yang Award, and the Chinese Society for Neuroscience-CST Outstanding Neuroscientist Award.

Dr. Xitong Liang is an Assistant Professor at the School of Life Sciences, Peking University, and an Investigator at the IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Center for Quantitative Biology, and Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences. He received B.S. in Biology from Peking University and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis, USA. Dr. Liang conducted his postdoctoral research with Prof. Gilles Laurent at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Germany. Using cephalopods (e.g., octopus, squid, and cuttlefish) as a novel model system, his research explores the diversity and evolution of animal behavior, AI for neuroscience, and brain-inspired AI.

Dr. Pan’s research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying fate decision in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs); and on generating functional neural stem cells (NSC) or hematopoietic/immune cells from hPSCs for clinical purposes. He has published more than 30 peer- reviewed papers as corresponding author or first author in decent scientific journals, such as Nature Methods, Cell Stem Cell, Nature Communications.

Dr. Duanqing Pei is Chair Professor of Regenerative Biology at School of Life Sciences, Westlake University. Dr. Pei received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1991; trained as a postdoctoral fellow at University of Michigan from 1991 to 1996. Dr. Pei’s primary interest is to understand cell fate control. His lab pioneered cellular reprograming and discovered: 1) Vitamin C as an epigenetic regulator that enhances cellular reprograming through histone and DNA demethylations; 2) Epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) and mesenchymal to epithelial (MET) transitions as drivers for iPSC generation; 3) Urine epithelial cells as a source of stating cells for reprograming. He has proposed a chromatin open-close binary logic for cell fate control and an conceptual interface between pluripotent and somatic states. These concepts are still driving current works in the lab. Dr. Pei won national natural science award twice and the distinguished achievement medal from Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is EMBO Associate Member and MAE (Member of Academia Europa).

Professional Title Section: Leading Talent of the National “Ten Thousand Talents Plan”; Principal Investigator of the National Development and Reform Commission’s Brain-Computer Interface Major Project; Director of Shanghai Strategic Emerging Industries Project; Honored as one of “Shanghai’s Top 50 Innovators and Entrepreneurs (2024)”; Recipient of “Shanghai’s Top 10 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cases of the Year”; Shanghai Oriental Talents Program – Leading Talent; Huangpu District Leading Talent (“Doorway of Light” Award); Silver Award Winner of “Gathering Global Talents” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition; Sichuan Province “Thousand Talents Plan” Entrepreneurship Leading Talent; China’s Most Socially Responsible and Honest Entrepreneur”; Invited Lecturer at University of Science and Technology of China Business School; Chengdu New Economy Top 100 Outstanding Talents; Vice Chair, Brain-Computer Interface and Interaction Division, Chinese Society for Neuroscience; Executive Vice Chair, Shanghai Future Industry Brain-Computer Interface Expert Committee; Member, Shanghai Society for Neuroscience Brain-Computer Interface Division; Lead Unit Director, Shanghai Industrial Technology Innovation Association Brain-Computer Interface Expert Committee Professional Experience: Founded NeuroXess (2021-present) – China’s leading invasive brain-computer interface company developing flexible BCI technology to protect and explore brain functions; Founded Keruyun (2012-2019) – SaaS solutions provider for local service businesses (F&B, retail, beauty), acquired by Alibaba for ¥1B; subsequently served as Senior Vice President at Alibaba Local Services; Co-founded 24Quan (2010-2012) as COO – Top 3 group-buying platform with $50M+ funding, 4,500+ employees, and operations in 100+ Chinese cities; Serial entrepreneur (1998-2010): Established Boway (education content), Mingpian (business card data exchange), and FirstDM (database marketing); Appointed Researcher at Tianfu Jincheng Laboratory Education:PhD in Brain-inspired Intelligence Science and Technology, Fudan University MSc in Software Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University BSc in Precision Instrument and Precision Machinery, University of Science and Technology of China. Education: PhD in Brain-inspired Intelligence Science and Technology, Fudan University MSc in Software Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University BSc in Precision Instrument and Precision Machinery, University of Science and Technology of China

Prof. Eddie Ma obtained his BSc from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1997) and his MPhil from The University of Hong Kong (2000). In 2005, he obtained his DPhil from the University of Oxford. He then moved to the United States for postdoctoral training at the Childrens Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School with Professor Clifford Woolf before joining the City University of Hong Kong in 2011. He was a recipient of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship at The University of Hong Kong (1997–1999), a Croucher Foundation Scholarship at the University of Oxford (2001–2004) and a fellowship at Harvard University (2005–2007).

Dr. Kate Qi is the Chief Executive Officer of SG Diagnostics Pte Ltd (Singapore) and SG Diagnostics (HK)Limited, leading efforts in advancing point-of-care diagnostics for chronic and infectious diseases across Asia. A scientist-turned-entrepreneur, she holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Nanyang Technological University and has over 10 years of cross-disciplinary experience in nanomaterials, biosensors, and translational diagnostics. Dr. Qi has successfully led R&D teams, commercialized diagnostic platforms, and driven regulatory and IP strategies. Her work spans multiple research grants and a portfolio of seven patents. She previously held leadership roles at NTU and Nanjing Tembusu Institute. Under her leadership, SG Diagnostics has deployed innovative diagnostic solutions in over 20% of the clinics and expanded operations into Hong Kong and Southeast Asia to tackle major population health challenges. Her mission is to make healthcare more accessible, decentralized, and data-driven through scalable innovations.

Prof. Qin is a tenured professor at Peking Union Medical College, a member of the Academic Advisory Committee of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, a member of the Third World Academy of Sciences, the chair of the Asian Federation of Laboratory Animal Science Associations, and the president of the International Society for Comparative Medicine.
Engaged in laboratory animal science for 40 years, she has established the first international repository with multiple species and strains—National Human Diseases Animal Model Resource Center of China. She designed a series of national standards for laboratory animals, which strengthened the standardized training of personnel and animal welfare. Her achievements have provided over 68,000 technical supports for medical research and pharmaceutical companies, yielding significant social and economic benefits. She has published 176 SCI papers as the first or corresponding author, including 8 papers on Cell, Nature, and Science. As editor-in-chief, she has published 37 monographs, including 6 national unified textbooks. Recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate, she has received multiple national-level awards, such as the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

Dr Qin graduated from Faculty of Medicine, Suzhou Medical College in 1980, received Master’s degree of Medicine from the Suzhou Medical College in 1985 and Doctor’s degree of Pharmacology from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1994. From 1994-1999, he finished postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health USA (NIH) and, from 1999-2003, he was employed as a lecturer and assistant investigator at Harvard University. From 2003 to 2023, he was working as a professor of Pharmacology, graduate student supervisor, Director of Institute of traditional Chinese Medicine at Suzhou University. Now he is the director of Institute of Health Technology, Suzhou Gaobo Vocational College. He is an associate director of Anti-aging Branch of Chinese Gerontology and Geriatrics Society, a member of Editorial Committee of Acta Pharmacologica Sinica. Dr Zheng-Hong Qin, has been engaged in pharmacology teaching and research for about 40 years. He has trained nine postdocs, 25 PhD students and 67 master’s students.There are many innovative achievements in the study of immune modulation and applications of cobra neurotoxin in autoimmune diseases and neurological diseases, He has published about 250 SCI papers and published three monographs (with total citations more than 26000 times, H-index 74). He was named as the most cited Chinese scholar in 11 consecutive years from 2014-2024. He is listed as one of global top 2% scientist in the world and one of 100 most-influential pharmacologist in China.

Richard Stone is the senior international correspondent for the weekly journal Science. He also serves as Special Advisor, Science Diplomacy and Engagement, for the international Human Frontier Science Program organization in Strasbourg, France. His overseas experience includes stints as a Fulbright Scholar at Rostov State University in Rostov-on-Don, Russia in 1995- 96 and at Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2004-05. Stone opened the Beijing bureau of Science in 2007, and spent 5 years in China. Among many highlights, he and Bruce Alberts, President Emeritus of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, interviewed former Premier Wen Jiabao for Science in 2008. He is the author of the nonfiction book Mammoth: The Resurrection of an Ice Age Giant.