【波士顿线下】 Female Leadership in Biotech（by 美东领航计划 & BioSpark）

Dr. Zhang brings Hopewell with more than 25 years of experience across all phases of drug discovery, pre-clinical research and development and translational science in biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining Hopewell, Dr. Zhang was VP of Biological Development at Editas Medicine since Sept 2018. During her tenure at Editas, Kate led the multi-functional teams employing the breakthrough CRISPR-based in vivo and ex vivo gene editing technology, bring one AAV gene therapy in ophthalmology and two autologous cell therapies in hematology from program inception to together three successful IND submissions. Prior to Editas, Kate was senior directors in Global R&D Platform and Global Pharmaceutical Development in Sanofi, and served as portfolio head of global translational science responsible for rare genetic disease, including rare nephrology and hematology.

Dr. Zhang received her BS at Tsinghua University, China, M.Sc. at Chinese Academy of Science, Ph.D. from Queen’s University, Canada and was awarded postdoctoral fellow at NIH. 

Shengfang is a co-founder, President and CEO, and Board of Director of Ensem Therapeutics. Prior to her role as CEO, she served as the President and Chief Scientific Officer, driving ENSEM’s strategic initiatives, technology platforms, and R&D. Previously, she was Vice President of Discovery Biology at Editas Medicine (EDIT), a clinical-stage gene editing company. Her teams pioneered the discovery of advanced CRISPR gene and cell therapies focusing on ophthalmology, neural diseases, and oncology. Earlier in her career, Dr. Jin was Senior Director of Biology at Agios Pharmaceuticals, leading the Small Molecule Cancer Metabolism and Rare Genetic Disease Portfolios that culminated in the approved & first-in-class products (IDHIFA®, TIBSOVO®, PYRUKYND®) and other clinical stage programs. She has also held roles of increasing responsibilities in other Cambridge drug discovery companies. Shengfang is a passionate & enthusiastic motivator, empowering team members to lead and shine.

Shengfang is co-author/co-inventor of over 80 peer-reviewed publications and issued patents. She holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Microbiology from Tufts Medical School (Boston) and obtained postdoctoral training in Oncology and Tumor Immunology at Harvard Medical School (Boston) as an NIH Fellow.

Dr. Huijuan Li is currently the Vice President of Analytical Science and Technology in Technology Development at Moderna Inc. Dr. Li oversees analytical method qualification, validation, and applications to process and product development from early development through to regulatory filing of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Under her guidance, her team plays a crucial role in supporting global quality control and manufacturing operations, ensuring the stringent requirements for product release and stability testing are met with precision and integrity. Dr. Li's work was integral to the successful development of Moderna's SPIKEVAX, the widely recognized COVID-19 vaccine. Beyond her technical expertise, Dr. Li is deeply committed to fostering a collaborative and nurturing work environment as the People Pillar leader for Technology Development. She is dedicated to creating an infrastructure that not only unites employees with a common purpose but also promotes a culture of support and continuous learning.

Prior to join Moderna, Dr. Li was the director of analytical development within Biologics Discovery (GlycoFi Site) and later in Bioprocess Development, Merck Research Laboratory. Dr. Li oversaw method development, characterization and applications to cell line, process, and product development from early discovery through to regulatory filing for all biologic modalities. Dr. Li and her team have contributed to commercial filings for global approvals of two monoclonal antibodies (KEYTRUDA, ZINPLAVA) and biosimilars (insulin glargine); SPIKEVAX (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) and more than 50 INDs including monoclonal antibodies, Fc-Fusion protein, PEGylated protein and mRNA therapeutics and vaccines.

Huijuan received her BSc and MSc from Lanzhou university, China and received her PhD from University of Melbourne, Australia. From there she pursued her postdoctoral studies at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Dr. Amy Liao is the Co-Founder and CEO of Couragene since its inception in 2022. Prior to starting Couragene, Amy was a co-founder and CEO of GENEWIZ, and then President of Brooks Life Sciences Services after GENEWIZ was acquired by Brooks Automation (now Azenta Life Sciences).

Dr. Liao has had a long and distinguished career in genomics services and sciences, with many academic and business achievements to date.  In 2020, in honoring an individual for a lifetime commitment and important contributions to patient healthcare, Dr. Liao received the coveted Biomedical Engineering Society's Wallace A. Coulter award for innovation in healthcare.  In 2010, Dr. Liao along with Dr. Steve Sun, co-founder of GENEWIZ, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 Award in the Services category for New Jersey.  

Dr. Liao graduated with a B.S. from Nankai University, a M.S. from Tsinghua University, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from SUNY at Stony Brook. Dr. Liao carried out her postdoctoral studies at Columbia University before she co-founded GENEWIZ with her business partner in 1999.

Dr. Liang Schweizer is the Founder, Chairperson and CEO of HiFiBiO Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotech company with unique expertise in immune modulation and clinical translation through its proprietary Drug Intelligence Science (DIS®) platform. Under her leadership, HiFiBiO Therapeutics successfully discovered and developed 8 clinical candidates in 5 years, and the company was named a “Fierce 15” Biotech Company of 2023 while its DIS® platform was recognized as an “AI Innovation of the Year” by Breakthrough Biotech. Previously, Dr. Schweizer co-founded Harbour Biomed as its CSO and successfully transformed the antibody platform company into a drug discovery and development enterprise. Before launching her entrepreneurial career, Dr. Schweizer served as Head of Asian Cancer Research at Sanofi, advancing Sanofi’s Asia-Pacific oncology pipeline and contributing across global oncology programs from preclinical to clinical stages. Prior to Sanofi, she progressed her career from oncology drug discovery project leader to director in Leads Discovery and Optimization at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

Dr. Schweizer is well recognized for her long-term vision, open innovation strategy, and business acumen, securing more than $230 million in private financing and over $80M in non-dilutive funding throughout her career. She was named as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 New England Award Finalist, one of the world’s top female founders by Business Financing, UK, and recognized with an Extraordinary Women Advancing Healthcare Award by The Commonwealth Institute of Massachusetts. She also received Women Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Women Empowerment Council (WEC) and one of the Top 50 Women in Science and Technology by Forbes China. In total, she has significantly contributed to 5 marketed drugs and to over 30 clinical candidates.

Dr. Schweizer graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), She received her Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota. Liang earned her Ph.D in Molecular Biology from the University in Zurich, Switzerland. Her postdoctoral training was with Dr. Harold Varmus, a Nobel Laureate, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York. Recently, she completed the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard Business School.

As LifeMine’s chief data officer, Lihua brings vast experience in drug discovery from target identification to translational medicine, data science and early clinical development. Lihua is passionate about integrating and applying data science across R&D, partnering with all functions to drive the platform and pipeline forward.

Lihua was previously at FogPharma, where she led the data science function and co-led the company’s discovery platform and new targets. Prior to Fog, Lihua was at H3, where she first served as head of bioinformatics and later as chief data science officer and president. Preceding H3, Lihua was the cancer bioinformatics leader at AstraZeneca Oncology US.

Lihua holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Boston University, studying under Dr. Temple Smith, and an M.E. and B.E. in biomedical engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China

BioSpark Group成立于2019年8月，是在美国麻省注册的非盈利机构。BioSpark致力于推动生命科学领域的高级人才交流，建立富有合作和互助精神的社群生态环境，实现学术和企业的跨界交流及思想碰撞，从而帮助华人科学家在世界生物医药领域提升领导力、开拓企业家精神及促进科学发现的商业转化。

BioSpark Group is a non-profit corporation registered in Massachusetts of the United States. The purpose of BioSpark Group is to establish a biotechnology ecosystem with a collaborative and supportive scholar network, promote leadership and entrepreneurship, and facilitate scientific translation.

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