Dr. David Weiner directs a translational research laboratory at The Wistar Institute in the area of Molecular Immunology. His group is one of the pioneering research teams in establishing the field of DNA vaccines and immunotherapies. Important reports from his lab include the first DNA vaccine studied for HIV as well as for cancer immunotherapy, the early development of DNA encoded genetic adjuvants including the particularly relevant IL-12, advances in gene optimization, and advances in electroporation (EP) technologies resulting in improved gene delivery among others. His group worked with collaborators to become the first to move DNA technology into human study. His laboratory’s work helped revitalize the field through advancement of new synthetic DNA design and modification of EP delivery approaches resulting in potent immune induction as well as the first successful Phase IIb DNA efficacy study (for HPV immunotherapy) in humans. Dr. Weiner is the recipient of numerous honors including election as a fellow to both the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011 and the International Society for Vaccines in 2012. He is the recipient of the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award and received the Vaccine Industry Excellence Award for Best Academic Research Team in 2015 at the World Vaccine Congress. Weiner was honored with the prestigious Hilleman Lectureship in 2015 at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Grand Rounds session and received a Stone Family Award from Abramson Cancer Center for his groundbreaking work on DNA vaccines for cancer immunotherapy. In 2019, Dr. Weiner was honored with the Scientific Achievement Award from Life Sciences PA (LSPA). Dr. Weiner returned to Wistar in 2016 from his position at The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. From 1990 to 1993, Weiner held a joint position as assistant professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at The Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr. Weiner is a co-founder of Inovio Pharmaceuticals and is a member of the Board of Directors. Dr. Weiner graduated with a B.S. in biology from SUNY at Stony Brook, N.Y., a M.S. in biology from the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. in developmental biology from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Heinrich Haas, Department of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz Mainz, Germany. Ph.D. in the group of Prof. Dr. Helmuth Möhwald at Johannes-Gutenberg Universität Mainz. Researched lipid membranes and organized bio-molecular systems. In pharmaceutical industry (Munich Biotech, Medigene, BioNTech) developed different types of nanoparticle products to clinical stage. Focus on advanced approaches for nanoparticle development and control.
Dr. Bin Wang is the Co-founder, Chairman of Advaccine Biotechnology Co LTD. He is also holding a distinguished professor position at the Fudan University School of Basic Medical Sciences and serves as the chairman for the Nucleic Acid Vaccines branch of the Chinese Vaccine Society. His research area is focused on the effects of therapeutic vaccination to activate T cells and the mechanism of immune regulations. He has developed novel adjuvants and recombinant vaccines, novel DNA vaccine delivery, and led to several developed vaccines being tested in human clinical trials. He received his Ph.D. from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine in 1990. He completed his postdoc training in virology and immunology at the Wistar Institute in 1992 in Philadelphia. He became an instructor and assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School from 1993 to 1998. He was a professor and served as the Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology for six years at the College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University before he joined Fudan University. He was one of the very early DNA vaccine technology inventors in the 90’s and performed the first-in-human DNA vaccine trials in 1994-1996. He has been involved in several clinical trials of therapeutic vaccines against chronic HBV infections in recent years and invented a novel prophylactic RSV vaccine currently under clinical phase II testing. He has published over 160 peer-review articles and awarded 35 US and 30 Chinese patents. He serves as an editorial board member for several international journals and executive member in several professional societies.
Shaowei Li Ph.D. Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Vaccinology, Xiamen University Shaowei Li is a tenured Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Vaccinology in the School of Life Sciences with a joint appointment in the School of Public Health, Xiamen University, China. He is the vaccine group leader in the National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in infectious diseases (NIDVD), one of the academic leaders in the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Diagnostics, deputy director in Fujian provincial Xiang An biomedicine laboratory. Dr. Li has inter-disciplinary research interests focusing on structural vaccinology, resulting in more than 120 peer-reviewed papers. He also has translational experience in vaccine development against infectious diseases—such as Hepatitis E vaccine and HPV vaccine, especially in aspects of immunogen design, process development and antigen characterization. Dr. Li has won two of China’s National Science and Technology Awards and been listed in the Top 20 translational researchers of 2016, ranked by Nature Biotechnology. He has served on the Product Development for Vaccines Advisory Committee (PDVAC), World Health Organization (WHO) since 2022.
Dexiang Chen, Doctor of Immunology, Mississippi State University, has been engaged in the development of vaccines and vaccine adjuvants in Pfizer, Novartis and PATH scientific and technological organizations for more than 30 years, and has presided over a number of major international public health special projects funded by international organizations, foundations and national governments. Among the more than 20 infectious disease vaccine development projects presided over and participated in, many products have been listed globally. Dr. Chen Dexiang has published more than 60 vaccine-related academic papers in world-class academic journals such as Science and Nature Medicine.
Xiangrong Song is a full professor at Sichuan University and a pharmaceutical scientist at National Key Laboratory of Biotherapy. The Song lab has developed the targeted delivery systems for gene drugs and small molecules to treat tumors, atherosclerosis, ocular diseases, infection or brain diseases. Two novel drug candidates (IND) have been approved for phase I clinical trials. She has authored more than 100 papers and is an inventor of more than 50 issued / pending patents worldwide. The technologies that Dr. Song and her colleagues have developed formed the basis for the launch of 2 biotechnology companies. The two companies are translating the aforementioned academic innovations toward commercialization and societal impact. In 2019, she was a recipient of the first prize of Science and Technology Award in Chinese National Medicine Association, for the research on immune function of Yi nationality's medicine. In 2022, she was named as the elite of science and technology in China.
Yongming Chen received his Master degree of chemistry in 1990 from Northwest University, Xian. In 1993, he obtained his Ph.D. on polymer science from Nankai University, Tianjin. From 1994 to 1998, he was Postdoctoral Researcher and later Research Assistant at the Institute of Chemistry, CAS. Then he spent the period 1998−2001 as Postdoctoral Researcher in the University of Düsseldorf and the University of Mainz. Since 2001, Chen was Professor at the Institute of Chemistry CAS. He moved to Sun Yat-sen University in 2013 and he works in Henan University in 2024. He obtained the “Distinguished Young Scholars” by the National Science Foundation of China (2006) and the “Wang Bo-Ren Polymer Research Award” by the Chinese Chemistry Society (2011). He served for Polymer, an Elsevier journal as an Associate Editor from 2007 to 2018. He also was on the Advisory Board Panel of Macromolecules and ACS Macro Letters. Professor Chen’s research interests are in the areas of synthesis methodology of polymers and polymer application in nanomedicine on biologics delivery, immune activation and inhibition. He has published over 300 research articles and around 30 patents approved.
Dr. Liu Yuanqing graduated from Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University and was a surgeon at Shanghai Zhongshan Hospital. He completed his PhD in Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium and was one of the pioneers on myeloid-derived suppressors in tumors. He was previously a senior research lead at Sanofi Pasteur French headquarter, where he contributed to various vaccine projects, including cancer vaccines, vaccines against infectious diseases, pediatric vaccines, adjuvants, etc. Dr. Liu is an industry veteran with extensive experience in the development of innovative vaccines for international market. He was a member of the EU Innovative Medicine Initiative. Since 2021, he has been the Chief Scientific Officer of Immorna Biotechnology. He is based in Shanghai where Immorna has established a high-standard R&D site aiming to accelerate the development of mRNA vaccines and drugs in China.
Dr. Jeff Zhu is the founder and CEO of Shanghai Reinovax Biologics co., Ltd., a fast-growing biotech company focusing on discovery and development of innovative vaccines and other biologics. Dr. Zhu has over 20 years’ industrial experience on discovery and development of small molecules, recombinant proteins, antibodies and vaccines from the early discovery to clinical trials. He played an important role in moving multiple drug candidates from the initiation to the clinical trial stage during his 13-year tenure at Pfizer’s R & D center in San Diego. Dr. Zhu moved back to China in 2011, and served as CSO and head of the R & D at Hualan Biological Engineering Inc., and two years later worked as senior director and department head in USP, Shanghai. Dr. Zhu published earned his Ph.D. degree on biological sciences from UC, Irvine, M.S. degree on biochemistry from Georgetown university, and B.S. degree on chemistry from Tsinghua university.
Nektaria Karavas is the Global Director of Business Development for Nasal Vaccines, Antivirals and Immuno-stimulants at Aptar Pharma. Ms. Karavas joined Aptar Pharma in 2004 and has held various commercial roles executing long-term strategy within key customer and global accounts in North America focusing on nasal drug delivery. She has contributed to multiple nasal development programs, supported commercial scale up and product launches for New Drug Applications (NDA) using an Aptar delivery device for key pharmaceutical clients across different therapeutic indications. Nektaria holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Dr. Julie D. Suman is the Vice President of Scientific Affairs for Aptar Pharma. She manages strategic scientific planning and Aptar’s Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Suman is also the co-founder of Next Breath. She holds a B.S. in Pharmacy from Duquesne University (1996) and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (2002). Dr. Suman serves on the External Advisory Committee of the New South Wales RNA Production and Research Network. In addition, she is a co-editor for Respiratory Drug Delivery Proceedings, an international symposium, and an an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Suman is the Past-Chair of the AAPS Inhalation Technology Focus Group. Dr. Suman is also a member of the Parental Drug Association Visible Particulate Taskforce. She is a licensed Maryland pharmacist. Dr. Suman has published her research in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented during podium sessions at international meetings, the FDA Topics in Bioequivalence Seminar Series and has been an invited speaker at ANVISA in Brazil. Dr. Suman’s doctoral research, which focused on the relationship between in vitro tests for nasal sprays and in vivo deposition, has been recognized for excellence by a research award presented at the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine, 2001. In 2008, Dr. Suman received an award from the Greater Baltimore Committee for Entrepreneurial Spirit.
Beijing special expert, Beijing COVID-19 prevention and technology talent, Beijing Normal University adjunct professor, Tsinghua University doctor, Oregon State University postdoctoral. Dr. Sun Le studied under Professor G. Sato, a member of the American Academy of Sciences, scientific Advisor to President Nixon, inventor of monoclonal antibody drugs, and Professor Zhao Nanming, former Dean of the School of Life Sciences and Medicine of Tsinghua University. Formerly Director of production and scientific research at Upstate/Merck USA; Founded A&G Pharmaceuticals in the United States in 2000 and served as President. Having undertaken a number of major national and Beijing science and technology projects, Jingtiancheng, as a key enterprise in Beijing's infectious disease emergency prevention and control platform, has played an important role in the fight against rabies, hand-foot-mouth EV71, avian influenza H1N1/H7N9, new Pornia virus, Norovirus, Ebola virus and novel coronavirus. Established a huge library of infectious disease pathogens antibodies, including pneumonia 18, HPV9, meningitis 4, DPT, rabies, Bunya Virus, EV71, CA16, HBV, HCV, HEV, HIV, IPV, rubella virus, RSV, RAV,JEV mouse mab thousands of species. In this outbreak, Dr. Sun Le was supported by the Major COVID-19 Emergency Project of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Gates Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Project respectively.
Dr. Tan is responsible for drug discovery, preclinical development, translation research and external collaboration in China. Dr. Tan got his Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from UT Health Science Center San Antonio and received his Postdoctoral training with Dr. Michael Karin at UC San Diego. Dr. Tan worked in Pfizer and Novartis for 9 years, specialized in drug discovery and translational research, bridging preclinical research to early clinical trials. Dr. Tan worked at Biosion Biotech and Coherent Biopharma before he joined Clover. Dr. Tan was selected as Jiangsu Innovation and Entrepreneur Talent and Suzhou Innovation and Entrepreneur Leading Talent.