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CONFIRM
Team of Experts

Acepodia’s management team is comprised of expert cell biologists, biochemists, oncologists and engineers with extensive experience in immune cell therapy R&D. With deep roots in cell therapy development and expertise in driving the clinical and business operations of biopharmaceutical companies such as Genentech/Roche and Juno Therapeutics, Acepodia’s leadership is well-equipped to deliver value to its stakeholders and successfully advance its cell therapy candidates through clinical trials and into the hands of patients in need.

MANAGEMENT
  • Patrick Y. Yang, Ph.D.

    Patrick Y. Yang, Ph.D.

    Chairman and Co-Founder
    Dr. Yang is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Acepodia. Dr. Yang was formerly Executive Vice President at Juno Therapeutics. Prior to Juno, he served as Executive Vice President of Technical Operations at Roche and Genentech, where he was responsible for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, process development, engineering, technical regulatory, quality, procurement, and global supply chain management. Prior to Genentech, he served in various leadership roles in the industry with Merck, General Electric and Life Systems. Dr. Yang earned his B.S. in Engineering from National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), his M.S. from the University of Cincinnati, and his Ph.D. in Engineering from Ohio State University.
  • Sonny Hsiao, Ph.D.

    Sonny Hsiao, Ph.D.

    CEO/CSO, President and Co-Founder
    Dr. Hsiao is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Co-Founder of Acepodia. He was awarded Dr. Y-T Lee Prize, which named after Nobel Laureate Dr. Lee, for his research achievement in Chemistry. Dr. Hsiao has extensive research experience in immune cell therapy development, which led to the discovery and invention of Acepodia’s novel cellular immunotherapy development platform, ACC (Antibody-Cell Conjugation) which was from Nobel Prize laureate-Professor Carolyn Bertozzi's pioneering work in the development of biorthogonal chemistry when Dr. Hsiao, Ph.D., worked at her lab. Dr. Hsiao earned his B.S. in Chemistry from National Taiwan University, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Molecular Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Jennifer Wang, Ph.D.

    Jennifer Wang, Ph.D.

    CQO, VP of Quality
    Jennifer has more than 25 years of Quality and CMC experience for CAR-T cell therapy, Antibody therapeutics, and Antibody Drug Conjugates. Jennifer is now the VP of Quality at Acepodia Biotech, Inc., an allogeneic cell therapy company specialized in a patented Antibody Cell Conjugates platform, based in the San Francisco Bay Area and with Operations in Taiwan.

    Before joining Acepodia, Jennifer was the Head of Quality at JW Therapeutics in China, working on the development of an autologous CAR-T cell therapy product RelmaCel, which was approved and launched in Sept 2021. Prior to joining JW in 2018, Jennifer worked at Abbvie for 2 years, Genentech for 10 years, and Tanox for 10 years in the US, led a team of scientists/Quality specialists responsible for various CMC and Quality aspects in developing multiple Antibody based therapeutics.

    Jennifer earned her B.S. in Chemistry, and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University in China, and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in the US.
  • Jessica Lee, MS/MBA

    Jessica Lee, MS/MBA

    Head of Business Development
    Jessica Lee received her Biotechnology M.S. degree from Northwestern University and M.B.A. degree from China Europe International Business School. Jessica's life science experience spans over 12 years in different roles from researcher, venture capitalist to corporate development. Prior to Acepodia, she held business development positions at CytomX Therapeutics, WuXi Biologics and Eureka Therapeutics where she has successfully either led or facilitated fundraising events and licensing deals with multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi, Regeneron and Moderna.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
  • Patrick Y. Yang, Ph.D.

    Patrick Y. Yang, Ph.D.

    Dr. Yang is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Acepodia. Dr. Yang was formerly Executive Vice President at Juno Therapeutics. Prior to Juno, he served as Executive Vice President of Technical Operations at Roche and Genentech, where he was responsible for biopharmaceutical manufacturing, process development, engineering, technical regulatory, quality, procurement, and global supply chain management. Prior to Genentech, he served in various leadership roles in the industry with Merck, General Electric and Life Systems. Dr. Yang earned his B.S. in Engineering from National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), his M.S. from the University of Cincinnati, and his Ph.D. in Engineering from Ohio State University.
  • Sonny Hsiao, Ph.D.

    Sonny Hsiao, Ph.D.

    Dr. Hsiao is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Co-Founder of Acepodia. He was awarded Dr. Y-T Lee Prize, which named after Nobel Laureate Dr. Lee, for his research achievement in Chemistry. Dr. Hsiao has extensive research experience in immune cell therapy development, which led to the discovery and invention of Acepodia’s novel cellular immunotherapy development platform, ACC (Antibody-Cell Conjugation) which was from Nobel Prize laureate-Professor Carolyn Bertozzi's pioneering work in the development of biorthogonal chemistry when Dr. Hsiao, Ph.D., worked at her lab. Dr. Hsiao earned his B.S. in Chemistry from National Taiwan University, and his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Molecular Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Hong Jen Chang, M.D.

    Hong Jen Chang, M.D.

    Dr. Chang is Chairman and CEO of YFY Biotech Management Company and is an adjunct professor at the Institute of Public Health at National Yang-Ming University. Prior to joining YFY Group, Dr. Chang held several key positions in the Taiwanese Ministry of Health and served as President and CEO at the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) and has extensive experiences in health care and disease control. During Dr. Chang’s tenure at BNHI, he established the Smart Card System for every citizen’s access to health care. Dr. Chang earned his M.D. from National Yang-Ming University and he also received his M.P.H. from National Taiwan University and M.S. in Health Policy and Management from Harvard School of Public Health.
ADVISORS
  • Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D. (Nobel Laureate)

    Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D. (Nobel Laureate)

    Chief Scientific Advisor
    Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D. was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering a novel form of click chemistry, known as bioorthogonal chemistry. The revolutionary approach utilizes, bioorthogonal reactions that transpire inside living organism, seamlessly integrating with cellular functions without disrupting the normal functions of a cell. She advanced these reactions that are now used to explore cells, track biological processes and improve disease targeting in cancer more efficiently, moving click chemistry into living organisms. Dr. Bertozzi is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine and National Academy of Inventors and has been a significant leader in advancing novel approaches to treating a variety of diseases, including cancer.
  • Harry Lam, Ph.D.

    Harry Lam, Ph.D.

    CMC
    Dr. Lam is a seasoned industrial veteran with extensive leadership experience in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and operations. Prior to join Acepodia, Dr. Lam was CTO and EVP at JW Therapeutics; VP & Head of Biologics Manufacturing at Sanofi; VP of Manufacturing & Technical Operations at Progenitor Cell Therapy; and VP of Manufacturing & Process Development at Shire Regenerative Medicine.

    Prior to Shire, Dr. Lam spent 17 years at Genentech/Roche with increasing responsibilities in various functions in South San Francisco and Singapore, including engineering, manufacturing, manufacturing science & technology, and CMO operations. Prior to Genentech, Harry spent 11 years at Pfizer Bioprocess R&D.

    Dr. Lam received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
  • Joseph S. McCracken, D.V.M., M.S.

    Joseph S. McCracken, D.V.M., M.S.

    Business Development
    Dr. McCracken has more than 25 years of experience in research, strategic business development and commercial roles in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He was previously vice president and global head of business development and licensing for Roche Pharma, where he was responsible for Roche Pharma’s global in-licensing and out-licensing activities. Prior to joining Roche Pharma, Dr. McCracken held the position of vice president of business development at Genentech for more than nine years, and previously held similar positions at Aventis Pharma and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer. Dr. McCracken holds a B.S. in Microbiology, a M.S. in Pharmacology, and a D.V.M. from Ohio State University. 
  • Bill Mackin, Ph.D., RAC

    Bill Mackin, Ph.D., RAC

    Regulatory Affairs
    As a seasoned drug development and regulatory affairs expert with over 25 years in the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Mackin has held senior leadership positions in regulatory and manufacturing functions within a number of biopharmaceutical companies and consultant agencies, including Aptuit Consulting. Dr. Mackin received his B.S. in Biology and Microbiology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Mackin was a post-doctoral fellow at University of Connecticut Health Center. Dr. Mackin also currently serves as President of WMackin & Associates.
  • Michael Kurman, M.D.

    Michael Kurman, M.D.

    Clinical Development
    Dr. Kurman has spent over forty years in the oncology drug development field. He is a board-certified medical oncologist who practiced community oncology and has participated as an investigator in oncology clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. During his career in the pharmaceutical industry, he has held positions of progressive responsibility at Janssen Pharmaceutica, Cytogen Corporation, U.S. Bioscience, and Quintiles’ (now IQVIA) Oncology Therapeutics Division. During his career in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Kurman has been involved in the regulatory review or commercial launch of four new oncology products. Dr. Kurman received his B.A., summa cum laude in biology from Syracuse University and his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College. He has held teaching positions at New York University and Stevens Institute and is an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Yale Office of Cooperative Research and a mentor for the Weill Cornell Bioventure eLAB.  
  • Richard Lopez, M.D.

    Richard Lopez, M.D.

    Dr. Richard Lopez is Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University and is also CEO and Founder of PhosphoGam, a biotechnology company developing gamma delta T cell therapies. Dr. Lopez is an experienced medical oncologist specializing in hematology and stem cell therapies.

    Dr. Lopez graduated and completed his residency training both in Stanford University School of Medicine.