Speaker

Hsiang-Ying Lee is a Principal Investigator at the School of Life Sciences, Peking University, and the Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences. Using red blood cell development as a model, her research integrates multi-omics approaches to elucidate the chromatin regulatory mechanisms underlying hematopoiesis, investigate the pathological processes of hematopoietic development and aplasia, and identify potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Her work, as first or corresponding author, has been published in journals including Nature, Cell, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, and Molecular Cell. She has been awarded the National High-Level Overseas Talent Program and has received the Class A (formerly Distinguished Young Scholar) grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Dr. Desmond HAU obtained his Bachelor of Science (Honors) [B.Sc. (Hons)] in Applied Biology from Hong Kong Baptist College (University) (Year 1990), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Biochemistry from The University of Hong Kong (Year 1993), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Research & Development Division of School of Chinese Medicine from Hong Kong Baptist University (Year 2012).

After serving as the Scientific Officer (Medical) for 2 years in Department of Clinical Oncology of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, he founded Bio-Gene Technology Ltd (Bio-Gene; www.bio-gene.com.hk), a leading regional company specializing in distribution of research and medical instruments, reagents and consumables since Year 1993. Currently, the business of Bio-Gene spans from Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China to Southeast Asia markets.

To enter the business of clinical diagnostic testing services and in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products, Dr. HAU invested and joined Pangenia Inc. (www.pangenia.com), a leading local molecular diagnostic testing services company, and DiagCor Life Science Ltd. (www.diagcorlifescience.com), an IVD products company focused on R&D, manufacturing & QC, product registration and export sales, as Board of Director and Chief Executive Officer since Year 2016. Collaborating with the School of Chinese Medicine of Hong Kong Baptist University in Year 2008, Dr. HAU established and introduced a series of Chinese Medicinal health food products into the market through the branding “BU Health” and, after Year 2018, a new brand called “One Health”.

Dr. HAU has over 30 years of experience in technology identification & commercialization, market development and business management, specializing in biomedical sciences, clinical diagnostics, medical devices and pharmaceutical products markets in various countries and cities.

Dr. Hau has also served as External Grant Assessor at Knowledge Transfer Office of City University of Hong Kong, a member of the Faculty of Science Advisory Committee of Hong Kong Baptist University, and Programme Advisory Panel Member at School of Medical and Health Sciences of Tung Wah College.

Dr. Erik Ko holds a BSc degree in Biochemistry and a PhD degree in Chinese Medicine from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has over 20 years of experience spanning academic research and commercial R&D, and specializes in advanced materials science and nanotechnology for TCM compound delivery enhancement. Dr. Ko has pioneered breakthrough material innovations including revolutionary water solubility platforms for insoluble natural compounds, rapid-release nanocarrier systems, and smart delivery matrices. Over the past five years, he has provided Hong Kong local industrial clients with R&D expertise, delivering actionable insights and value-added intelligence for different R&D challenges. His interdisciplinary expertise bridges ancient medicinal knowledge with modern materials engineering.

Mr. Yeung joined Immvira Group in July 2020 and has been serving as the chief financial officer (CFO) of the group since then.

Mr. Yeung has extensive knowledge and more than 20 years’ experience in financial industry. Before joining in Immvira, he held senior management positions at multiple listed corporations, playing a key role in leading their listings on the New York Exchange, NASDAQ and Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Mr. Yeung received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and his bachelor’s degree in applied science from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, in the United States in May 2002.

Professor Tuan (Ph.D., Rockefeller University), the immediate past Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK; 2018 to 2025), is an internationally renowned biomedical scientist who specializes in musculoskeletal biology, tissue regeneration, stem cells, biomaterials, 3D bioprinting, and tissue/organ-on-a-chip technologies. He is currently the Lee Quo Wei Lee Yick Hoi Lun Professor of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine at CUHK, where he founded the Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM) in 2016. A highly cited author of over 650 publications (h-index, 135), he has received multiple international recognitions, including Fellowship in the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies (ICORS) and Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), and Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), the latest being the 2025 Jensen Tissue Engineering Award from TERMIS. He is the founding editor of Birth Defects Research (2003-2017) and Stem Cell Research & Therapy (2009-present), and Associate Editor of Stem Cells Translational Medicine (2011-present).

Dr. Gabriel Wallau is a Public Health Researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, affiliated with the Department of Entomology and the Bioinformatics Core of the Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM) – FIOCRUZ – Pernambuco, as well as the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). He is also a principal investigator at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany, affiliated with the Department of Arbovirology and Entomology. His research group focuses on topics such as viral discovery and evolution, comparative genomics, computational biology, and omics methodologies applied to pathogens and hosts. He leads the Research Group on Pathogen and Host Genomics and is a member of the Fiocruz Genomics Network, a Ministry of Health founded initiative posed to implement pathogen genomic surveillance in Brazil and the region.

Dr. Alex Shih-Min Huang joined BeOne Medicines in April 2021 and is the Vice President, Head of Cell Therapy. He is an experienced leader of science and people in pharmaceutical R&D with substantial proficiency in drug discovery and development. Over the span of more than 20 years, he built a command of portfolio oversight and hands-on, proven track record spanning target discovery/validation, hit-to-lead, lead nomination, lead optimization, development candidate selection, early/late development, life cycle management, clinical biomarkers, and forward/reverse translational research, at Novartis, Sanofi, Genentech, BMS, and AbbVie with increasing responsibility.

Prior to joining BeOne Medicines, Alex was deeply engaged in the clinical development space at Genentech, BMS, and AbbVie. Most recently, he was the Senior Director of Precision Medicine Oncology at AbbVie, leading a group of ~50 seasoned scientific personnel, delivering translational research/clinical biomarker/CDx strategies, critical data packages, and relevant interpretations to facilitate development and commercial decisions from pre-GLP tox to Ph1/2/3 trials and life cycle management, covering >20 pipeline molecules consist of various therapeutic modalities (CAR-T, bispecific, ADC, naked therapeutic antibody, small molecule, etc.) targeting diverse biological space including immuno-oncology, apoptosis, and B cell signaling pathways in both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Prior to entering the translational medicine space, Alex was a drug discovery program PTL with Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) and Sanofi Oncology, leading drug discovery teams to advance multiple programs spanning target discovery/validation, hit finding, lead optimization, lead nomination, development candidate selection, and pre-clinical translational research.

Dr. Huang obtained his doctoral degree in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Rochester Medical Center and completed his post-doctoral training at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) in San Diego.

Having worked in domestic and international enterprises producing antibiotics, blood products, pharmaceutical excipients, in vitro diagnostic reagents, and monoclonal antibody (mAb) drugs, he possesses over 30 years of experience in drug R&D, registration, production, and quality management. Currently serving as the ​Quality/Business Head​ of ​3SBio Inc.​, ​Vice Chairperson​ of the ​Biochemical Drugs Professional Committee​ of the ​Shanghai Pharmaceutical Association, and ​Council Member​ of the ​Shanghai Association for Quality​.

Dr. Yangming Wang is a full Professor and Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the College of Future Technology, Peking University, China. He is also a Principal Investigator at Beijing Advanced Center of RNA Biology (BEACON). His research interest is on RNA biology and stem cell biology. His major contribution to the field includes: systematic dissection of miRNA functions in embryonic stem cells; invention of a miRNA-inducible CRISPR platform (MICR) that can serve as miRNA reporter and cell specific genome editing tools; invention of MAPIT-seq that enables co-profiling in situ RNA binding protein interacting RNAs and transcriptome in single cells and tissues; co-developed a new approach to identify homologs of long noncoding RNAs; developed a highly reproducible and efficient organoid culture system. He currently uses multiple disciplinary engineering approaches to develop novel tools for basic and translational research of RNA and stem cells. He has published over 40 scientific journal papers on peer-reviewed journals including Nature Genetics, Nature Cell Biology, and Nature Methods et al. He is an Advisory Board member for Cell Reports and Cell Proliferation. He is also a co-founder of Xungene Therapeutics.

Guanghui Ma is a professor of Institute of Process Engineering (IPE), CAS. She received Bachelor degree from Gunma University, Master and PhD degrees from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, respectively. She worked at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT) as an assistant professor during 1994-2001. She joined IPE as a professor in 2001 and was promoted to the director in 2012. She has published over 500 papers, including Nature, Nat. Mater., Nat Nanotechnol., Nat. Biomed. Eng., Sci Transl Med., Cell Host & Microbe, Sci. Adv., Nat. Commun., JACS, Adv. Mater., edited several books such as “Microspheres and Microcapsules in Biotechnology”. She has more than 90 patents authorized, the technology and products have been commercialized in companies. She has received the State National Invention Award (2nd Class; 2009), the Beijing Science and Technology Award (1st Class; 2005), the Basic Research Achievement Award (1st Class; 2020) of the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China.

She was elected as the member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Fellow of TWAS, and the Fellow of American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIBME).