【活动】Bioverse Episode 12 - AI in Drug Development

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Speakers intro

Ms. Lily Zhang is a Partner at Jones Day, a multi-practice, cross-jurisdictional law firm. Her practice is dedicated to intellectual property, with an emphasis on patent preparation and prosecution and providing clients with strategic insights in portfolio management. Lily is an engineer by training with deep technical knowledge, and her ability to craft creative solutions for helping companies manage their IP assets provides tremendous value to clients. Her innovative computational biology and bioinformatics practice is focused on helping clients navigate the intersection of biopharma and high tech. She has experience in a broad range of technical areas, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, computational drug discovery and design, digital pathology, wireless technologies, cybersecurity and cryptography, medical devices, network hardware and software, electronic payment systems, battery composition and production, robotics, optics, and 3D printing and laser fabrication.

Lily has experience in prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications. She has prosecuted patent applications in industries such as biotech, data storage, accounting and record management, network security, cloud computing, mobile device security, RFID (radio-frequency identification), video processing, social networking, online games, consumer finances, electronic marketplaces, power generation and storage, and food production.

Lily has written and spoken on many intellectual property-related subjects, including copyright law as it relates to artificial intelligence and machine learning inventions, bioinformatics, and AI-related patents.

Dr. Lipeng Lai, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of XtalPi, holds dual Bachelor's degrees in Physics and Mathematics from Peking University and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Chicago. Since launching XtalPi alongside his colleagues at MIT in 2014, Dr. Lai has been instrumental in driving the company's R&D in technological innovation, overseeing technology transfer, fostering project incubation, and building a thriving innovation ecosystem. Dr Lai won first place in the 5th BRICS Youth Innovation Award and was selected as Shenzhen overseas high-level talent.

At the forefront of XtalPi Innovation Center, Dr. Lai guides a dedicated team in capitalizing on the company's advanced AI and robotics experimental platform, pushing the boundaries of innovation in strategic, high-value sectors. The team is committed to producing pioneering scientific research, harnessing the power of automation and AI to address critical challenges in burgeoning fields such as biopharmaceuticals and new material development. Leveraging XtalPi's track record of success, they expedite the translation of novel technologies into commercial applications. Under Dr. Lai's leadership, the Innovation Center has been a catalyst for several startups brandishing revolutionary technologies, including Revochemix, which specializes in the discovery of bio-based materials through AI and robotics, and ClickMab, the originator of the industry's first data-driven, epitope-specific AI platform for antibody design. Furthermore, the center has established multiple partnerships with leading corporations to further the reach and impact of XtalPi's platform, continuously driving value creation across various industries.

Ms. Sharon Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Alphalife Sciences Group, stands at the forefront of the convergence between computer science and life sciences, with over 25 years of software product development experience. In her previous roles, Sharon served as the country General Manager at Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company, where she pioneered tech solutions that integrated computer science with life sciences. Additionally, as an engineering director at Google, she developed critical technological platforms and received prestigious accolades such as the "Founder's Award" and the "Outstanding Leadership Award" for her exceptional contributions and leadership.

Sharon's unparalleled expertise in artificial intelligence, computer science, and life sciences uniquely positions her as a leading figure in the industry. Recognized as one of the "Top 30 Influential Women in Medicine in 2023," her visionary leadership and innovative spirit continue to drive significant advancements at AlphaLife Sciences Group and across the broader life sciences sector.

Alex Snyder is the Head of Research and Development at Generate Biomedicines, a biotechnology company that uses generative AI together with machine learning and protein engineering to create novel medicines. Prior to joining Generate in 2022, Dr. Snyder was a Principal at the biotech incubator Two River, following her role as Associate Vice President and Head of Translational Oncology at Merck. She previously was Translational Medicine Lead at Adaptive Biotechnologies, and started her career as faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU and Bellevue Hospitals.

Nora Luo focuses on patent prosecution and strategic intellectual property counseling in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Her practice includes preparation and prosecution of U.S. and international patent applications, patent portfolio management, due diligence evaluations, freedom-to-operate analyses, patentability evaluations, and inter partes review proceedings.

Nora has worked with established companies, start-ups, and research institutions. She has experience with a wide range of technologies, including immunotherapy (for example, antibodies, antibody drug conjugates, vaccines, cell-based therapies, CAR-T cell technology, immune checkpoint modulators), gene therapy, CRISPR technology, mRNA delivery, mRNA-based therapy, lipid nanoparticles, viral vector-based gene delivery system (for example, AAV [adeno-associated virus]), antibody engineering, RNA splicing, cancer therapeutics, virology, stem cells, neurological disorder therapeutics, high-throughput screening, genomics, diagnostic assays, anti-aging therapeutics, and small molecule pharmaceuticals.

Nora holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Princeton University. While at Princeton, she was awarded the American Society for Cell Biology Norton B. Gilula Award and was the recipient of the National Institute of Health Fellowship. Prior to joining Jones Day, Nora was a Damon Runyon Cancer Research fellow at The Rockefeller University. Her scientific work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, including Cell and Science, and was featured in The New York Times and Nature.

Leon ‘Jun’ Tang, is the founding partner of InScienceWeTrust BioAdvisory, a business development company focused on the East-West cross-border partnerships in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Tang is also the founder of InScienceWeTrust Community, which has more than 2,000+ members from Asian biotech community. He is also the c-founder and host of Bioverse webinar.

Dr. Tang serves as a scientific advisor to Mianus Capital, a boutique US-based healthcare PE/VC fund currently focused on ophthalmology. He is also an advisor to BioSpark, an Asian biotech professional’s association based in Massachusetts.

Previously, Dr. Tang was a senior director of BD Search & Evaluation at Shanghai Henlius Biotech, a public biotech listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange, a biotech sell-side analyst at Barclays Investment Bank, and a senior manager/senior analyst at the philanthropic venture fund of Cancer Research Institute of New York.

Dr. Tang has published 50+ academic papers, some of which are in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Lancet Oncology, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications, Science Advances, PNAS, etc. Dr. Tang received his bachelor’s degree from Tianjin University, master’s degree from Nankai University, PhD from Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai, and postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 

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