Advisors

Nancy Chang, PhD

CEO and President of Apex Enterprises

Dr. Chang is currently serving as the CEO and President of Apex Enterprises, Inc., an investment management company focused on investments in healthcare, education and socially responsible ventures. From 2007 to 2012, she was the Chairperson and Senior Managing Director of Caduceus Asia Partners at OrbiMed Advisors L.L.C., one of the largest healthcare focused investment management firms in the world. Prior to that Dr. Chang was the Co-Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Tanox (1986-2006). Tanox focused its effort on the development of therapeutics to address major unmet medical needs in the areas of asthma, allergy, inflammation, aged macular degeneration and other diseases affecting the human immune system. In 2000, the company raised 250M and went public on Nasdaq making it the second largest Biotech IPO in the biotech industry. Tanox’s first product, Xolair, launched in 2003 and was a breakthrough drug that has changed the lives of many asthma sufferers in the world. In 2007 Tanox was sold to Genetech for 919M. From 1980-1986 Dr. Chang held several leadership positions at Centocor, now a division of Johnson and Johnson. During 1986-1992 she was also an Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. Her pharmaceutical development experience stemmed from her tenure at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology from 1979-1980. Dr. Chang graduated from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and received her Ph. D. from the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard Medical School in 1979.

In over her 30 year tenure in the biotechnology industry, she has developed and commercialized a number of highly successful diagnostic and therapeutic products. Even today, there are breakthrough drugs which are coming to the market due to Dr. Chang’s work. Dr. Chang has served on the boards of a number of companies, including Charles River Laboratory International, Inc., Eddingpharm (Cayman) Inc., Crown Bioscience Inc., Applied Optoelectronics, SciClone Pharmaceuticals, Steamtrax, and many other private companies. In addition, Dr. Chang was a member of the board of directors at BIO (the Biotech Industry Organization in the U.S.) and BioHouston (the biotech industry organization in Houston, Texas). Recently Dr. Chang was elected to be on the board of Asia Society in Texas. She was also a Director at the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas Houston Branch from 2005 to 2009 and a Director for Project Hope.

Separately, Dr. Chang has received numerous awards including Junior Achievement’s Hall of Achievement (2014), Greater Houston Women’s Hall of Fame (2013), The Biotechnology Heritage Award – Co-sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization and Chemical Heritage Foundation (2013), Chemical Heritage Foundation’s Woman in Chemistry (2012), Woman in Science Award in Houston (2012), American Biographical Institute’s Woman of the Year in Medicine & Healthcare (2010), BayHelix Lifetime Achievement Award (2010), Houston Technology Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Life Sciences (2009), Texas A&M University Center for New Ventures & Entrepreneurship’s Conn Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Award (2009), 150 Most Influential Business Leaders in Houston (2009), Forbes 25 Notable Chinese Americans (2008), Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA) Life Time Pioneering Achievement in Biotech (2006), BioHouston Life Science Award – Tanox (2005), Harvard University Crimson Award for Leadership and Community Service (2005), MedAd News Magazine’s Most respected Woman in Biotechnology (2005), Global Federation of Chinese Business Women in Southern USA’s Global Business Achievement Hall of Fame Governor’s Award (2005), in addition to many others.

Philip Bath, MD, DSc

Chair and Head of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Nottingham

Dr. Bath is Stroke Association Professor of Stroke Medicine, and Chair and Head of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham. He is also convener for the Neuroscience@Nottingham and Vascular Research multidisciplinary groups, and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Associate Director for Industry and Prevention in the Stroke Research Network. With 339 publications, he was the Stroke Association Keynote Lecturer in March 2015.

Clinically, he contributes to the NUH Stroke Service (in-patient and out-patient stroke care) and Hypertension Clinic. As an NIHR Senior Investigator, his main research interests cover the treatment of acute stroke (blood pressure lowering), prevention of stroke recurrence and cognitive impairment (antiplatelets, blood pressure, and lipid lowering), and enhancement of recovery using stem cells. He uses preclinical studies, clinical trials (phase I to IV), and systematic reviews to help address these questions.

Dr. Bath received his MD from King’s College London, University of London and his DSc from the University of Nottingham.

Paolo Madeddu, MD

Chair of Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Bristol

Dr. Madeddu is Chair of Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine and Head of the Section of Regenerative Medicine, School of Medicine at the University of Bristol. With 250 peer-reviewed publications in PubMed, his is a worldwide expert in regenerative cardiovascular medicine with significant research interest in the role of kallikrein-kinin system in angiogenesis and vascular biology. He serves as Chief Editor of Frontiers in Cardiovascular Science (Regenerative Medicine) and is Associate Editor at Circulation Research, ATVB, and Scientific Reports.

Dr. Madeddu received his MD from the University of Sassari.

John Volpi, MD

Co-Director of the Eddy Scurlock Stroke Center, Houston Methodist

Dr. Volpi is the Co-Director of the Eddy Scurlock Stroke Center at Houston Methodist and Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology at the Institute for Academic Medicine. His research interests are in the management and prevention of ischemic stroke, and the critical care of patients with neurological illnesses such as intracerebral hemorrhage, epilepsy, and nervous system infections. His studies also involve the use of ultrasound in the evaluation of blood flow to the brain and development of novel therapies for improving patient outcomes in stroke.

Dr. Volpi received his MD from Baylor College of Medicine

Robert C. Stanton, MD

Chief of the Kidney and Hypertension Section, Joslin Diabetes Center

Dr. Stanton is a Principal Investigator in the Section on Vascular Cell Biology and the Chief of the Kidney and Hypertension Section at the Joslin Diabetes Center, as well as an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In addition to his research activities, Dr. Stanton is very involved with teaching at all levels (student, resident, fellow, and faculty) at local, national, and international levels. He has worked with national and international medical faculty to educate them on how to organize medical courses and how to use various educational methods. Dr. Stanton has been invited to lecture throughout the United States and throughout the world (including China, India, the Middle East, Europe, and South America). He has received three Honorary Professorships from Universities in China. Dr. Stanton serves on many Harvard Medical School Committees and is co-director of the Human Systems Pathophysiology Course for second-year medical students at Harvard Medical School. He also Chairs the Harvard Medical School Fundamentals of Medicine Year 2 Harvard Committee. Dr. Stanton is an author of many original articles and chapters, and has served both in reviewer and in editorial positions for academic journals.

He received his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia and completed residency training at the Oregon Health Sciences University, where he was the Chief Resident in Internal Medicine. He completed his fellowship in Nephrology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and postdoctoral training in Physiology at Tufts University School of Medicine.