Speaker

Ye Yin is CEO of BGI Group. He is PhD from Copenhagen University, Senior Scientist in genomics research, Adjunct Professor in Dalian University of Technology, Member of Expert Panel on Human Genetic Resources Management in China, Committee Member of Chinese Society for Measurement in Biology, Standing Committee Member of CACA Committee on Cancer Public Education, Director-General of Guangdong Innovation and Technology Alliance of IVD (ITA-IVD), Director-General of Shenzhen Life-tech Industry Alliance and Director-General of Shenzhen Association of Standardization.

Dr. Liu is an experienced biotechnologist, virologist, biochemist, and serial entrepreneur. He leads the Avirmax team to innovate, develop, and manufacture the next generation of AAV gene therapeutics (NGAGT) for eye diseases. Prior to Avirmax, Dr. Liu was the chief scientist of biological development in Bayer Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Liu was a cofounder and the president of Abmaxis, Inc. which was acquired by Merck in 2006. Dr. Liu was the group leader of Genentech BSL-3 Virology Lab. He developed many bioprocess technologies implemented in biologics manufacturing. In the past 30 years, he played important roles in the innovation, development, manufacturing, and regulatory submissions of 35 biologic products, including AAV genetic products, out of which 10 are widely used biologics in the market. He co-discovered and characterized a new virus, the rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), and the rabbit calicivirus in 1984.

Dr. Liu received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Kansas State University and his post-doctoral training with Dr. Arthur Kornberg (Nobel Laureate), Stanford University. Dr. Liu is a member of ASGCT, AAO, ARVO, and an advisor of the Bioengineering Department of Santa Clara University.

Juan Valencia S. is Senior Product Marketing Manager at PharmCube, where he tracks and analyses pharmaceutical industry developments, emerging trends and competitive landscapes. With a scientific background in biochemistry, structural biology and physics, he has conducted research at leading institutions across three countries, including the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He carries 7 years of experience in the pharmaceutical consulting sector, delivering strategic insights on market dynamics, R&D pipelines, regulatory shifts and financial trends to diverse industry stakeholders, from emerging biotechs to Big Pharma companies.

Gergely Tóth, PhD, MBA, is the CEO, CSO, and founder of Cantabio Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing novel disease-modifying precision therapeutics and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Tóth is also an Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Pharmacy at University College London, where he lectures about the business of biotech. Dr. Tóth previously held various research roles in small and global biopharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and later was a Wellcome Trust-funded research fellow at the University of Cambridge. Dr. Tóth has over 20 years of experience in the research of therapeutics and diagnostics for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. His research and publications were highlighted in articles by Biocentury Innovations, Scientific American and the World Economic Forum’s ‘Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2019.

Dr. Yuan obtained his PhD in neurobiology at Yale University. He then completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University. Dr. Yuan started his own laboratory at Fudan University on 2021. He is an expert of in vivo optical microscopy and his work primarily focuses on combining high-performance imaging of neuron activities, mathematical modeling, and single-cell manipulation to understand and dissect the principles underlying information representation and neurocomputation. He is also interested in figuring out the information-level abnormality in pathological conditions. Dr. Yuan has published numerous high-profile papers and has been cited for more than 4000 times. His work includes the following: Science 2025; Nature 2022; Nature Methods 2020; Neuron 2016, 2015; Nature Communications 2023, 2015; eLife 2024; Journal of neuroscience 2019, 2016; PNAS 2017; Biological Psychiatry 2018.

Dr Chan Joined HKAS as an Accreditation Officer in November 2012.  Before joining the family, Dr Chan worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and an Honorary Research Associate in Stem Cell Biology research at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) for 4 years.  Dr Chan holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine) from HKU, as well as the degrees of Master of Philosophy (Physiology) and Bachelor of Science (Biology) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). 

In 2004, Dr Chan received research training at the University of British Columbia (Canada).  Two years later, he was invited to be a visiting scholar at the University of California, Davis (U.S.) and underwent research training at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Northern California (Sacramento, U.S.).  In the past, Dr Chan was a Chartered Biologist and a member of the Society of Biology (U.K.).  In HKAS, Dr Chan is responsible for the accreditation of medical testing laboratories and proficiency testing providers.

WEI Wensheng received his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Peking University and a Ph.D. in Genetics from Michigan State University. After postdoctoral training and working as a research associate at Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Wei became a principal investigator in the School of Life Sciences at Peking University from 2007. He is currently a professor at the Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, and the School of Life Sciences at Peking University, Director of the Genome Editing Research Center at Peking University, and Lead Scientist at Changping Laboratory. The Wei group’s research primarily focuses on advancing eukaryotic gene editing tools, with particular emphasis on high-throughput functional genomics, gene and cell therapy, and innovative RNA therapeutics utilizing circular RNAs.　

Dr Toh Han Chong is Deputy CEO (Strategic Partnerships), National Cancer Centre Singapore and Professor at Duke NUS Medical School. He completed his International Baccalaureate on a United World College scholarship to Lester Pearson College, British Columbia, Canada. Dr Toh then obtained his BSc (Intercalated) from the University of London in ‘Infection and Immunity’ and his medical degree from the University of Cambridge, UK. His oncology and translational research fellowships were at the Singapore General Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Dr. Toh is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School General Management Program. He is Principal Lead, Cellular Immunotherapy at the Singhealth Duke NUS Cell Therapy Centre. Dr Toh received the National Senior Clinician Scientist Award in 2017, the National Medical Excellence Award (NMEA) in 2018, and the NMRC STaR Award in 2022.
Dr Toh is co-founder of the Asia-Pacific Gastrointestinal Cancer Summit (APGCS).
He is a member of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Scientific Faculty for Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy and chair of Investigational Immunotherapy at the ESMO Annual Congress 2026 in Madrid, Spain. Dr Toh has published over 160 peer-reviewed journal papers, including in The Lancet, The Lancet Oncology, The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Oncology, Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, Journal of Hepatology, etc.
Dr Toh is co-founder of NeoTILa Pte Ltd and won first prize (Global Health) at the Wolfson Entrepreneurship Competition, Cambridge University, in 2024.

Since February 2017 Anna has been coordinating international relations of the Polish Academy of Sciences. As the head of the unit, she is responsible for recommendations on international policy, coordination of bilateral and multilateral programs, as well as overseeing the activities of the PAS representation centers abroad. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, she coordinated support actions for scholars affected by the war. In 2025, she was appointed by the Polish Minister for Science and Higher Education as an expert responsible for building the strategy of internationalization of science sector in Poland. Prior to joining the Polish Academy of Sciences, Anna had been coordinating international cooperation of the National Science Center, a Polish governmental funding agency set up to fund basic research. In the years 2007-2011, Anna worked in the industry sector. Anna is a recipient of many prestigious fellowships, including the Distinguished H. Humphrey Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Starting from October 1st, Anna will serve as the Vice President of the Foundation for Polish Science.

Dr. Yaning Wang is the Founder and CEO of Rui Ning Kang Pharma, providing consulting service for new drug discovery and development, dose optimization, trial design, biomarker/surrogate/clinical endpoints justification, regulatory interactions, IND/NDA/BLA package preparation, asset and company evaluation, and license in/out negotiation. Between 2021 and 2024, he was the CEO of Createrna, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for multiple diseases. Under his leadership, 500 million RMB was raised during a capital-winter period and multiple billion-dollar license-out deals were achieved. Before 2021, he was the Director of the Division of Pharmacometrics at US FDA and oversaw reviews, research projects, and policy development for all disease areas. Before joining the FDA, Dr. Wang received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics and a master’s degree in Statistics from the University of Florida in 2003. He also obtained a master’s degree in Biochemistry (1999) from the National Doping Control Center and a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy (1996) from Peking University in China. Dr. Wang is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida, Beijing University, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Central South University. Dr. Wang has published over 120 papers and given over 500 presentations at various national and international meetings as an expert in new drug development and regulation. He was selected to be one of the top Healthcare Technology Leaders of Washington, DC for 2023. He is the external advisor for the Chinese National Medical Products Administration and the expert reviewer for the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. He also serves as an expert advisor for Shanghai Free Trade Zone Fund and a senior consultant to multiple American investment companies and banks.