OUR PEOPLE

Tom Cheung received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2006. Before he joined the Division of Life Science at HKUST, he was a postdoctoral fellow in Prof Thomas Rando laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine. Prof Cheung is currently a member of the Center for Stem Cell Research, the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, the Center for Systems Biology and Human Health, and an affiliated member of the Division of Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Graduate Program at HKUST. Prof Cheung is a recipient of the Croucher Innovation Award in 2015 for the study of “Molecular regulation of stem cell ageing”.

Vanessa Cheung is the Group Managing Director of Nan Fung Development Ltd., managing the Group’s Hong Kong property division.

She is also the Founder of The Mills – a revitalization project of transforming the Nan Fung Textile Mills into a global innovation techstyle destination comprising of art, start-up incubator and experiential retail. Through The Mills project and her experience in working for AECOM as a Landscape Designer as well as a part-time lecturer at HKU on City Branding, she hopes to inspire the younger generation and push Hong Kong’s leadership potential beyond the status quo.

She is a convener of NarrativeHK, an initiative promoting positive attitude among her generation in envisioning the future of HK. She co-founded Quo Kefir Believers, a natural probiotic health food company, and the co-owner of HK’s first CrossFit gym, CrossFit Asphodel.

Vanessa obtained her Master in Landscape Architecture at Harvard University and Bachelor in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Irene Chu is a Partner of KPMG China specializing in emerging businesses and life sciences industries. She started her career with KPMG Toronto and has been working in Hong Kong for over 19 years. She is experienced in serving multinational and mainland Chinese companies that are private or listed in Hong Kong or U.S in audit and accounting advisory projects. The industry sectors of her current and past clients include life sciences, technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) and consumer markets. She’s experienced in leading Hong Kong IPO projects for companies based in China and overseas. She was the TMT sector leader from 2014-2017 and is currently leading New Economy businesses and the Life Sciences sector for the Hong Kong region. She works with innovative and emerging companies across different industry sectors, and collaborates with Hong Kong governments, investors, universities and corporate entities to support and grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem, new economy opportunities and the life sciences sector in Hong Kong.

Shan Fu joined Vivo in 2013 as a Managing Partner, Co-CEO and CEO of Greater China. Before joining Vivo, Shan worked for Blackstone as Senior Managing Director in the Private Equity group and the Chief Representative of Blackstone’s Beijing Office. Shan also worked in the Department of Foreign Investment in China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the State Economic and Trade Commission of China, the Office of Economic and Trade in State Council of China, and the Office of Production in State Council of China.

Shan received a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in History from Peking University in Beijing, China.

Keiji Fukuda is the Director and a Clinical Professor at The University of Hong Kong School of Public Health. He previously worked at the World Health Organization (WHO) in several capacities including Assistant Director-General (ADG) and Special Representative of the Director-General for antimicrobial resistance; ADG for the Health Security and Environment Cluster; and Director of the Global Influenza Programme. Before that, he worked at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the Epidemiology Section Chief, Influenza Branch and as a Medical Epidemiologist in the Viral Exanthems and Herpesvirus Branch, National Center for Infectious Diseases. Prof Fukuda has been a global public health leader in many areas including health security; emerging infectious diseases including seasonal, avian and pandemic influenza, SARS, MERS and Ebola; antimicrobial resistance; development of the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework; implementation of the International Health Regulations; food safety; and chronic fatigue syndrome. He has considerable experience in epidemiological research and field investigations, media communications and international diplomatic negotiations including those held to establish a historic Heads of State level meeting on antimicrobial resistance at the United Nations in 2016. He has a BA in Biology, an MD; an MPH; was trained in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at CDC and is certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Meng Gao is Group Chief Investment Officer of the Group CEO’s Office  Nan Fung Group. He is responsible for overseeing Nan Fung's overall investment activities, as well as developing the group's strategic initiatives including Nan Fung Life Sciences. Meng is also a board member of New Frontier Group, a China-based investment group.

Prior to joining Nan Fung, Meng was a Managing Director at Blackstone’s Private Equity Group in Hong Kong. At Blackstone, he was involved in a number of transactions across multiple industries. Before joining Blackstone, Meng was a Senior Vice President at Oaktree Capital Management, where he was involved in sourcing, structuring and executing private equity investments in China. Prior to that, Meng was an investment banker with Credit Suisse and JPMorgan in New York.

Meng received a Bachelor of Economics degree from Peking University, an M.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with Honours.

David Ho is the Clyde’56 and Helen Wu Professor of Medicine, founding scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, and director of the Wu Family China Center for Health Initiatives at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He received degrees from California Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School.  

Dr Ho has been at the forefront of AIDS research for 39 years, publishing over 400 papers. His elegant studies unraveled the dynamic nature of HIV replication in vivo and revolutionized our basic understanding of a disease that took the lives of so many. He championed combination antiretroviral therapy that resulted in unprecedented management of HIV in patients, transforming a disease that meant almost certain death into a chronic condition for more than 25 million individuals worldwide. His research team is now devoting considerable effort to vaccine and antibody research directed at halting or slowing the spread of AIDS. After working on the SARS virus, he has turned his work now to developing drugs and antibodies to fight the new coronavirus.

Dr Ho has received 14 honorary doctorates, including one from Columbia University. He was named Time Magazine’s Man of the Year in 1996 and received a Presidential Citizen Medal in 2001. He was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, recognized by the Kingdom of Thailand with the Prince Mahidol Award in Medicine, and given the Distinguished Alumni Award by Caltech. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine as well as the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Lu Huang joined Morningside in 2003, and is now in charge of Morningside’s overall healthcare investment activities in China. With more than 16 years’ VC industry experience, Dr Huang has led nearly 3 dozens healthcare/life-science investments in greater China and the North America, representing Morningside on various company boards. Morningside healthcare/life-science investments cover sectors across bio-pharmaceutical, medical devices, IVD, healthcare services, healthcare IT and etc.

Prior to joining Morningside, Dr Huang served as a Marketing Associate in the Public Relations & Marketing group at Continuum Health Partners in New York City, which provides integrated healthcare management services throughout the New York metropolitan region.

Dr Huang holds her medical degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical School (Former Shanghai Second Medical University), trained and practiced in Obstetrics/Gynecology; and her M.B.A. degree from St. John’s University, New York.

Daniel Lee is a clinical biochemist and has been an Advisory Committee Member of the School of Pharmacy, and Scientific Advisor of the Clinical Trial Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, for CUHK. He obtained his BSc and PhD in Pathology from The University of Hong Kong. After teaching at The University of Hong Kong for seven years, he joined the pharmaceutical industry and served for over 25 years in pharma companies including Johnson and Johnson USA, Biogen USA, GSK China and served as General Manager and Head of site for Roche Pharma R&D China from 2010.

Prof Lee has broad experience of both small molecule and biologic drug discovery and development, including companion diagnostics, covering therapeutic areas from central nervous system, infectious diseases, diabetes complications to oncology and inflammation. He joined the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation as Head of the Biomedical Technology Cluster from 2013 to 2018 and contributed significantly to the biotech industry and translational medicine development in Hong Kong. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, actively engaged in teaching and journal manuscript reviews, and co-invented 14 published patents. He has served as CEO and board director of biotech companies, consultant for several institutes and companies, Adjunct Professor of the Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Honorary Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong.

Nisa Leung is the Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, leading its health care investments. Qiming Venture Partners is a leading investment firm in China which currently manages investment in over 380 companies. 

She currently sits on the board of Zai Lab, Venus MedTech, CanSino Biologics, New Horizon Health, dMed, Chain Medical Labs, Berry Oncology, Belief BioMed, Valgen, Insilico Medicine among others. Her other investments include Gan & Lee, Aeonmed Medical, Berry Genomics, Broncus, CITIC Pharmaceutical, Crown Bioscience, Kira Pharmaceuticals, LIH, Novast Pharmaceuticals, Nurotron, OriGene Technologies, Richen, Wuxi Leiming, MEDx, Cure Genetics, SinoCell Tech, Apollomics, Sino United, Schrödinger, Jacobio, Zhenge, Hope Medicine among others.

Prior to joining Qiming, she was the co-founder of Biomedic Holdings with operations and investments in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and health care services in China including NovaMed Pharmaceuticals and U-Systems. Nisa was the Venture Partner of PacRim Ventures in Menlo Park, and was previously with Softbank/Mobius Venture Capital.

Nisa has been recognized by the Forbes Global 100 VC Midas List in 2019, 2020 and 2021, named Best Women VCs List by Forbes China (#2 in 2021, #3 in 2018) and won Venture Capital Professional of the Year by Asian Venture Capital Journal in 2017.

Nisa earned her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS from Cornell University. She is currently the visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School, member of Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council and serves as an independent non-executive director of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (“HKEX”) and Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Suet Yi Leung graduated from HKU Medical Faculty with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Programme (MBBS) and a Doctor of Medicine, and is now Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty. Her groundbreaking research on cancer genetics, genomics, and tumour biology of gastrointestinal tract cancer has been recognised as among the most read and cited. She has been identified by ISI Essential Science Indicators as being in the top 0.1% of authors worldwide in terms of total research citations.

Prof Leung and her research team discovered a new genetic cause of early onset hereditary colorectal cancer (Lynch Syndrome) that has led to the development of a standard genetic diagnosis protocol that is now listed in the World Health Organisation textbooks and used globally. Prof Leung’s other major achievements include decoding the cancer genome of stomach cancer. Through this she uncovered many new cancer driver genes and provided the roadmap for the development of personalized cancer therapy.

Prof Leung has received numerous awards and honours for her research, including the prestigious Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowship and the Outstanding Researcher Award of The University of Hong Kong in 2007. In 2012, Prof Leung was conferred an Endowed Professorship Status and appointed as the YW Kan Professor in Natural Sciences in recognition of her research achievements. 

Prof Leung has translated her research findings to serve the community through provision of a unique charitable genetic diagnosis service for the Hong Kong population at risk of hereditary colon or other types of cancer. Over the years, the service has led to the prevention of colon cancer, especially among young people at risk. Prof Leung is also highly involved in community service both in Hong Kong and the region. She serves as the Chairman of the Medical Laboratory Technologist Board, member of the Supplementary Medical Professions Council, member of the Research Council and grant review board of the Health and Medical Research Fund, Food and Health Bureau and international journal editorial boards.

Kai Liu received his Bachelor degree from School of Life Sciences at Peking University in 1998, and received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University at New Brunswick in 2006. Then he did his postdoc research at Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School. He joined Division of Life Science at HKUST as Assistant Professor in 2011, and is currently Cheng Associate Professor of Science. His research interest focuses on the intrinsic mechanisms regulating axonal regeneration and functional repair after central nervous system injuries.

Jay Mei has over 25 years of experience in clinical research and development of oncology therapeutics globally. He has published over 70 publications and is the co-inventor of multiple patents. In the 1990s, Dr Mei dedicated himself to extensive cancer research at the National Cancer Institute in the United States. In 2001, Dr Mei joined as a Principal Scientist in the oncology team in the drug discovery division and Associate Director at Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.. From 2006, Dr Mei worked as a Senior Director at Novartis Oncology, part of the Innovative Medicines division of Novartis AG. From 2008 to 2017, he served as an Executive Director of the clinical development department at Celgene (now part of Bristol-Myers Squibb). At Celgene, Dr Mei was one of the leading members in the clinical development of multiple blockbuster drugs that represent the most significant part of Celgene’s portfolio today, including REVLIMID®, which is among the best-selling oncology therapies worldwide, and was also involved in the clinical development of POMALYST®, also one of the best-selling oncology drugs worldwide, and IDHIFA®, a first-in-class drug for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Dr Mei was involved in the management of Antengene since April 2017. Dr Mei also currently holds adjunct professorship at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute.

Dr Mei received his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from Hunan Medical University (now XiangYa School of Medicine of Central South University) and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Maryland. Dr Mei has been a member of the American Society of Hematology since 2006.

Malik Peiris is a clinical and public health virologist with a particular interest in emerging virus disease at the animal-human interface. His current research encompasses emerging animal and human influenza viruses and coronaviruses including avian influenza H5N1, H7N9, the pandemic of 2009, SARS and more recently, MERS. In 2003, he played a key role in discovering the novel coronavirus as the cause of SARS and contributed to its control.

Prof Peiris co-directs the WHO H5 Reference Laboratory at HKU and serves on many standing committees and ad-hoc advisory committees of international agencies such as the WHO and FAO. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 2006, Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2016 and Foreign Associate of National Academy of Sciences in 2017. He is a founding member of the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong. He was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star (S.B.S.), Hong Kong SAR (2008), Mahathir Science Award, Akademi Sains Malaysia (2007) and Officier de la Legion d’Honneur, Republic of France (2017).

Leo Poon received his doctoral training as a Croucher Scholar in the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford (1996-1999). He returned to Hong Kong in 1999 and joined the University of Hong Kong as a Research Assistant Professor in 2001. He currently serves as a Professor in the School of Public Health of HKU.

Prof Poon is a molecular virologist and he studies viruses of global health concern. His research helps to reveal the biology of influenza viruses and coronaviruses and facilitates the development of control measures against these pathogens. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles. He has been ranked in the top 1% of the world’s most-cited scientists each year since 2005 by Clarivate Analytics and, an even more prestigious honour, as a Highly Cited Researcher since 2015. He was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship by the Croucher Foundation in 2017. He was elected as a Founding Member of Young Academic of Science of Hong Kong in 2018.

Prof Poon serves as an expert for several international organisations. He is a committee member in the Coronavirus Study Group under the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (since 2006) and he is also an expert in the Influenza Molecular Diagnosis Working Group of the World Health Organization (since 2009). He serves as an ad hoc consultant for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and for the World Organization for Animal Health for controlling MERS coronavirus.

Jin Seok Seo is currently the Chair of the Board of Celltrion Inc - part of the Celltrion group, which is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Incheon, South Korea with a global-leading position in research, development and manufacturing of biosimilar and innovative drugs. Jin Seok started his career in Celltrion since 2014 and he had taken various roles within the Celltrion Group. He was the CEO of Celltrionskincure, Inc. from March 2018 to March 2019 before taking his current position.

Jin Seok holds a bachelor degree from the Department of Animal Resources, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University. He has a PhD degree from the Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

Stanley Sy, Chief Executive Officer of Sanomics and the founder of Aurora Tele-Oncology. Stanley has committed to promoting the development of Hong Kong's biotechnology industry for more than a decade. After graduating from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a master's degree, he joined the Prince of Wales Hospital to participate in various research work on biotechnology and published 11 journal articles during the period. Furthermore, he also successfully applied for government funding which provided vital resources and training to many junior researchers.

In 2015, Stanley joined Sanomics Limited with a determination to improve cancer treatment methods. Starting from a sales representative , he was promoted to the company's Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. At Sanomics, Stanley has worked with highly-regarded medical professionals such as Professor Tony Mok and Professor Dennis Lo, as well as manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and Zai Lab Limited. Stanley has successfully applied for patents in new drug development and this has provided doctors with new treatment options, bringing hope to millions of patients.

In October 2018, he was appointed as a member of the Technology Voucher Programme Committee approved by the Innovation and Technology Commission. In December 2018, he was appointed as a committee member of the Chongqing Youth Federation. Starting in 2020, Stanley has been appointed as a committee member of the Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks Committee and a member of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee. In addition, Stanley also serves as an advisor for the Hong Kong Elderly Welfare Foundation.

In 2020, Stanley founded Aurora Tele-Oncology Limited which aims to provide oncology-specific cancer telemedicine services. By breaking locational barriers, it seeks to provide patients with access to doctors worldwide as well as global clinical trials. Furthermore, Stanley was selected as a young leader in the Greater Bay Area to praise his outstanding contributions to the field of biotechnology.

Lap Chee Tsui is currently President of the Victor and William Fung Foundation, Founding President of the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, Director of Zhejiang University’s Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, and University of Toronto’s Emeritus University Professor.

He is a past Vice Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong, prior to which, he was Geneticist-in-Chief at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and University Professor at University of Toronto, Canada

He received his Bachelor and Master degrees from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and his PhD from University of Pittsburgh. He is world renowned for his research work in human genetics and genomics, notably the identification of the gene for Cystic Fibrosis and other human genetic diseases while conducting a comprehensive characterization of human chromosome 7. 

Prof Tsui has over 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications and 65 invited book chapters. He is the recipient of many national/international prizes, and is a Fellow of Royal Society of Canada, Royal Society of London and Academia Sinica. He is an Associate Member of the National Academy of Sciences USA, a Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and is a Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Laureate. His other awards include 15 honorary doctoral degrees, the Orders of Canada and Ontario, and the Grand Bauhinia Medal and Gold Bauhinia Star, and Justice of the Peace from Hong Kong.

Yung Hou Wong is currently a Chair Professor of the Division of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He also serves as the Senior Associate Dean of Science, the Director of Biotechnology Research Institute, and the Director of Molecular Neuroscience Center at HKUST. He graduated with a BSc degree in pharmacology at the University of London, and subsequently received his PhD degree from the University of Cambridge. After his post-doctoral training at University of California San Francisco, he joined HKUST as a faculty member in 1992. Prof Wong is a leading expert in the molecular pharmacology of G protein-coupled receptors, G protein-mediated signal transduction, as well as drug discovery and development. As a highly accomplished researcher, Prof Wong has published over 210 scientific papers and serves as a Chief/Associate Editor in a number of journals including FASEB BioAdvances and Frontiers in Endocrinology. He is also actively engaged in community service through his appointment in the Medical Council of Hong Kong, the Consumer Council of Hong Kong, and various academic and professional organizations. In recognition of his achievements, Prof Wong has been awarded the Medal of Honor and the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship.

Frank Yu is the founder, CEO and CIO of Ally Bridge Group, a leading global life science-dedicated investment group. Frank carries a strong track record as an investment manager across multiple funds and strategies with investments in the U.S., China and Europe. Frank started his career in New York, then worked in Hong Kong for over two decades. Previously, Frank was Managing Director and Head of China Investments at Och-Ziff Capital Management (OZ), a leading global hedge fund, where he made some of OZ’s largest and highly successful investments. Prior to OZ, Frank was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, where he headed several business units and played instrumental roles in some of the most important restructuring, IPO and M&A transactions of leading Chinese companies. Frank also advised leading global institutions on their China and Asia strategies and transactions. Before Goldman Sachs, Frank worked at Moody’s in New York, and then Credit Suisse in London and Hong Kong.

Since 2010, Frank has founded, launched and managed 7 funds covering venture, growth, buyout and hedge fund investing from China to U.S. to Europe.  Frank excels in originating and executing major investment themes such as global life science investing, which has become the primary focus of Frank and Ally Bridge, creating high-impact deals such as the landmark US$3.3 billion WuXi Pharmatech. He has expertise in cementing strategic transactions between emerging players and industry leaders across the U.S., China and Europe.

Kwok-Yung Yuen graduated from the Medical School at the University of Hong Kong and was awarded State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (Special class), the Justice of Peace by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, and Gold & Silver Bauhinia Star Awardee of the HKSAR. He is also Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Lond, Edin), Surgeons(Glas) and Pathologists(UK). In the outbreak of avian influenza virus H5N1 in 1997 in Hong Kong, Prof Yuen was the first to report in Lancet about the unusual clinical severity and high mortality of infected patients which could be identified by the in-house designed molecular test at his laboratory. During the outbreak of SARS in 2003, he led his team in the discovery of the SARS coronavirus successfully and was honoured as Asian heroes of the year in April by Time Asia Magazine. He has also led his team in the discovery of over 60 novel disease agents, 10 bacteria, 4 fungi and 2 parasites. His 900 publications with over 36,000 citations are mainly related to the research of novel microbes or emerging infectious disease agents.

Feng Zhang is a McGovern Investigator and a professor in MIT’s Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and of Biological Engineering. He is also a core member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He joined MIT and the Broad Institute in 2011, was awarded tenure in 2016, and became a full professor in 2017. Feng Zhang grew up in Iowa after moving there with his parents from China at age 11. He received his A.B. in chemistry and physics from Harvard College and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University. Feng Zhang is a founder of companies including Editas Medicine, BEAM Therapeutics, and the public company Arbor Biotechnologies. He is also a trustee of the non-profit organizations Society for Science & the Public and the Center for Excellence in Education.