Dr. Hershko received his M.D. in 1965 and his Ph.D in 1969 from the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. He is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion in Haifa. Along with Aaron Ciechanover and Irwin Rose, he was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. Through the research earning the Nobel Prize, the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway was demonstrated to have a critical role in maintaining the homeostasis of cells and to be involved in the development and progression of diseases such as cancer, muscular and neurological diseases, and immune and inflammatory responses. Importantly, Dr. Hershko also advised that the development of the proteasome inhibitor Velcade be turned towards cancer, where it was eventually approved as a treatment for Multiple Myeloma.

Dr. Huang is Founder, Chairman and CEO of BeyondSpring and SEED Therapeutics. Dr. Huang received scientific training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where her breakthrough research in solving the first E2-E3 ubiquitin ligase structure involving P53 degradation was published in Science. She received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, where she won the graduating PhD woman award from Soroptimist International. Her translational research in cancer signaling pathways involving Ras was published in two Nature papers. Dr. Huang has more than a decade of entrepreneurial experience in the Chinese and U.S. biotechnology industry and invented and holds patents for a number of biotech products for oncology and dermatology indications. Prior to founding BeyondSpring and its pipeline of preclinical to Phase 3 assets, Dr. Huang co-founded WuXi MTLH Biotechnology Co. Ltd., and designed cancer peptide drug whose China rights were acquired in 2010 by Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group, one of the top three pharmaceutical companies in China. She also co-founded Paramax International, a clinical CRO company in China, sold to RPS (a global CRO), then to Warburg Pincus in 2011. At BeyondSpring, Dr. Huang has taken the company public (NASDAQ:BYSI) and advanced the main small molecule asset, plinabulin, through NDA filing in the US and China.

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Dr. Zheng is a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Ning Zheng seeks to understand the intricate interactions and coordinated functions of proteins and signaling molecules found in plants and animals, including humans. Using a structural biology approach, Zheng and his team conduct studies that span several interwoven research areas, including ubiquitination, transcription, plant biology, ion channels, circadian clocks, and drug discovery. Their overarching goal is to apply the underlying biological principles they learn to the development of novel therapeutics as well as to the planet’s ecological balance. Dr. Zheng pioneered the concept of Molecular Glue with his determination of the mechanism of action of the plant hormones auxin and jasmonate. Moreover, utilizing over 20 years’ experience discovering the structural biology of ubiquitin ligases, Ning demonstrated the potential to utilize high throughput screening of small molecule libraries to discover molecules that can induce productive protein-protein interaction between a ubiquitin ligase and a protein being targeted for degradation.

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Dr. Pagano is the Chair of the Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Department and the May Ellen and Gerald Jay Ritter Professor of Oncology at the New York University School of Medicine. He is also an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Pagano studies the large family of human ubiquitin ligase enzymes, essential factors in the degradation of cellular regulatory proteins. His laboratory utilizes discovery-driven data analyses to explore new areas of research. As a result, he has expanded his work – initially focused on cell-cycle control – to encompass multiple aspects of cellular signaling involving ubiquitin ligase enzymes. Another major goal of his research team is to reveal key regulatory mechanisms underlying fundamental biological responses and behaviors for which dysregulation results in cancer. His long-term goal is to develop new anticancer therapies based on novel concepts of protein degradation. Dr. Pagano’s experience co-founding Mitotix Inc. and pioneering the concept of targeting CDK inhibitors for the treatment of cancer provide him with valuable insights into successful drug development out of basic research discoveries.

Dr. Tonra received his BS in Physics and PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from SUNY Stony Brook. He has over 26 years experience in discovering and translating pre-clinical assets to clinical development, and expanding the utility of clinically advanced assets in leading innovative biotech companies including Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Kadmon Holdings and ImClone Systems/Eli Lilly. In the nearly 10 years Dr. Tonra spent at ImClone, his efforts were critical in the validation and IND filing for 10 preclinical assets, including Cyramza®, Portrazza®, and Lartruvo®. At BeyondSpring Dr. Tonra was instrumental in expanding plinabulin’s clinical indications and in spinning out SEED Therapeutics in 2020. In his present role as President and CSO of SEED Therapeutics, Dr. Tonra has translated a molecular glue discovery platform into an active pipeline, with the first clinical asset approved for human dosing in 2025.

Bill Desmarais brings over two decades of leadership across finance, business development, and strategic operations in the biopharmaceutical industry. He has led and executed transformative transactions across the industry, with experience spanning both buy-side and sell-side dealmaking. He previously held executive roles as Chief Business Officer at Alchemab Therapeutics and TScan Therapeutics, and was Vice President of Business Development at Momenta Pharmaceuticals, where he helped guide the company through its acquisition. Earlier, he spent over a decade at Eli Lilly in Search & Evaluation and Business Development, advancing global partnership strategy and pipeline expansion. Bill holds a Ph.D. in Biophysics and Structural Biology from Brandeis University, an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a B.S. in Biology from Purdue University.

Dr. Lin is the Managing Director of Lilly Chorus, a full-service, autonomous R&D unit within Lilly that specializes in lean to clinical Proof of Concept (POC). Previously at Lilly, he held the positions of Site Head & General Manager, Lilly China Research and Development Center (LCRDC), a diabetes focused R&D center based in Shanghai, and Head, Lilly China Innovation Partnerships (LCIP), an externally focused organization to engage biotech and academic collaborators in China. Prior to Lilly, Dr. Lin led the Chemistry Service Unit at WuXi AppTec, after leading multiple drug discovery teams at Merck. Dr. Lin received his BS in Chemistry from Peking University and obtained his PhD in Organic Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He completed his NIH postdoctoral Fellowship with Nobel laureate Prof. E.J. Corey at Harvard University.

Dr. Demetri received his A.B. in biochemical sciences from Harvard College and M.D. from Stanford University, followed by internal medicine residency and Chief Residency at the University of Washington, Seattle and medical oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. His career as a physician-scientist has focused on discovering and developing precision cancer therapies to target specific oncogenic mechanisms in molecularly-defined subsets of cancers, with a focus on rare sarcomas and other ultra-rare cancers. He led the research and development of imatinib (Glivec®) to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) as the paradigm of a mutation-driven solid tumor.  Subsequently, he designed and led the worldwide development of both sunitinib and regorafenib for GIST after resistance to imatinib. He also played key roles in developing other therapeutic agents, including trabectedin (Yondelis®), pazopanib (Votrient®), avapritinib (Ayvakit®), vemurafenib (Zelboraf®), and tazemetostat (Tazverik®). Based on his contributions, Dr. Demetri was awarded the 2020 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) as well as the 2023 J.E. Wallace Sterling Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicine from the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association. In addition to scientific advisory roles for several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide, Dr. Demetri also co-founded IDRx, a biotechnology company acquired by GSK in 2025 to develop transformational therapeutic strategies in GIST.   He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and as past Chair of the AACR Science Policy and Government Affairs Committee.

Dr. Rowinsky is a medical oncologist with significant experience in developing impactful oncology drugs. He was a lead clinical investigator on early developmental studies on many classes of targeted therapeutics including erlotinib, gefitinib, panitumumab, temsirolimus, ridaforolimus, and trabectedin. Dr. Rowinsky was also Chief Medical Officer at ImClone Systems, leading the team that achieved approval of cetuximab, ramucirumab and necitumumab. In addition, he has performed seminal clinical development and pharmacologic studies for paclitaxel, docetaxel, irinotecan and topotecan. Currently he serves on the board of directors for Biogen, Verastem and Purple Biotech.

Mr. Tai has served as Non-Executive Director at several leading global companies, including Eli Lilly, HSBC (where he was Chairman of the Risk Committee), and Mastercard. He continues to serve as Board Member for Hong Kong Exchange listed Wuxi Biologics (where he is Chairman of the Audit Committee). He formerly served as Non-Executive Director for a number of companies, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, The Bank of China, Singapore Airlines, NYSE Euronext, and Royal Philips.

Mr. Tai also serves as a Board member of the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as a member of the Harvard Business School Asia-Pacific Advisory Board and the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Tai obtained his Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University in 1974 and Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1972.

Dr. Shannon is a visionary drug hunter and seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 18 years of experience at Bayer, Eli Lilly, Roche/Chugai, and Merck, and is recognized for her expertise in advancing breakthrough therapies spanning small molecules, biologics, and cutting-edge genetic medicines. She is the Chief Scientific Officer at AskBio, Bayer’s wholly owned gene therapy and gene editing subsidiary. Throughout her career, Mansuo has demonstrated a passion for tackling the most challenging disease indications, strategically targeting high-conviction biological pathways with optimal modalities. Her leadership has been instrumental in driving multiple programs into clinical development, most notably the Phase 2 proof-of-concept study for Zagotenemab in Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Shannon earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at MIT under Nobel Laureate Dr. Susumu Tonegawa, grounding her executive leadership in rigorous science and visionary innovation.

Mr. Spector is an accomplished clinical development executive with 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical product development. He was previously the European President of Siro Clinpharm, an emerging market CRO with a strong focus on the CEE and India. His career in clinical development began at Quintiles Transnational, where he played a key role in expanding the company’s European operations. Scott served as the President of Quintiles France and Spain and led the global operations for the CNS and Anti-Infectives business units. After a decade at Quintiles, he became President of CAC Oncology, a pioneering firm in oncology contract research services and drug development consulting. Following the sale of CAC Oncology to AAIPharma, he became President of a new entity called AAI Oncology. He holds a BS/BA in Finance from Boston University and a Professional Certificate in Genetics and Genomics from Stanford University.

Mr. Tung has served as a director and strategic advisor to leading international corporations and advisory councils, including Eisai Co., Ltd., Hawaiian Airlines, and Kajima Corporation. Mr. Tung formerly served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank, Secretary General of the International Centre of the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), senior partner of O’Melveny & Myers, and Senior Counsellor at Morrison & Foerster.

Mr. Tung currently serves as a board member of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT) in Japan with funding from the Gates Foundation, the Japanese government, Wellcome Trust, and large Japan pharmaceutical firms, including Takeda, Astellas, and Eisai. While at the World Bank, Mr. Tung provided legal advice in the establishment of the Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. He has been at the lead of cross-border public policy, including as a member of the Trilateral Commission, U.S. Presidential Commission on United States Pacific Trade and Investment Policy, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the East-West Center. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has been associated with the American Society of International Law, International Bar Association, and Bar of the City of New York. As a distinguished scholar, Mr. Tung has taught at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and NYU Law School for many years. Mr. Tung received his education at Harvard College (B.A. in physics, magna cum laude), Harvard Law School (J.D.), and University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law.

Alan Roemer, MBA, MPH is an entrepreneurial life sciences executive and board member who has launched three multi-billion-dollar biotechnology companies resulting in 9 new drug approvals, raised approximately $2 billion in private and public capital, consummated five IPOs, and executed numerous business development transactions.

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Mr. Roemer is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of IN8bio (Nasdaq:INAB); a Trustee and Treasurer of the Helene Fuld College of Nursing; a Strategic Partner of Forty51 Ventures; a Senior Advisor of Biolojic Design; an Advisor and SAB Member of SEED Therapeutics; and a Management Committee Member of DC Brau Brewing. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of UTILITY Therapeutics (acquired by Alembic Pharmaceuticals); a Director and Chair of the Audit, Compensation and Finance Committees of Bit.Bio; a Director and Audit Committee Chair of NexImmune (Nasdaq:NEXI); a Director of Envisagenics; and a Director of SomPharmaceuticals (acquired by Amryt Pharma (Nasdaq:AMYT), subsequently acquired by Chiesi Farmaceutici).

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With over 25 years of experience in drug development, Dan leads the drug research and development in SEED. She is leading a team to discover E3 ligase for multiple targets by using SEED RITE3TM Platform, develop Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) assays, perform molecular glue (MG) drug screening, map protein-protein interaction epitopes, evaluate MG drug candidates in vivo and in vitro, and study Mechanism of Action (MOA) of SEED’s drug candidates.

Prior to SEED, Dan led R&D laboratories that developed biologics pipelines for both ImClone Systems and Kadmon Corporation, which were subsequently acquired by Eli Lilly and Sanofi, respectively. At ImClone and Kadmon, Dan oversaw and conducted high-throughput screening (HTS) of phage libraries targeting therapeutic proteins, designed and engineered monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, mapped protein-protein interaction epitopes, and characterized physical properties of proteins and antibodies, in vitro/in vivo efficacies and CMC development of antibody drug candidates. Her work has led to the discovery of multiple therapeutic agents that advanced to clinical trials and received regulatory approval. Dan holds a Master of Science in Biochemistry from the City University of New York (CUNY) in New York, NY, and a Master of Science in Chemistry from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China.

Dr. Mizui is the President of Eisai Innovation, Inc., a corporate venture capital within Eisai Network that specializes in investing in biotech startup companies. He also has the leadership roles in Eisai R&D as Heads, Academic & Industry Alliance, and Collaboration & Incubation departments. Previously at Eisai Network, he held the positions of Head, Strategy & Business Development of Eisai Oncology Business group, Director of H3 Biomedicine, Inc., and Head, Lead Discovery Biology. Dr. Mizui received his BS in Agricultural Chemistry from Kyushu University and obtained his PhD in Agricultural Chemistry at the Kyushu University.

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Dong is a medicinal chemist with over 20 years of experience in drug discovery and development. As Assistant Vice President of Medicinal Chemist, he leads broad chemistry efforts at SEED, including HTS library evaluation/selection, hit ID/confirmation, compounds design/optimization, new platforms (AL/ML, etc.) and CMC support of clinical candidates. He specializes in hit generation, hit-to-lead, and lead optimization, leveraging structure-based drug design (SBDD) and multiparameter optimization strategies.

Prior to SEED, he served as Director of Medicinal Chemistry at WuXi AppTec, Associate Director of Chemistry at Eternity Bioscience. Dong contributed to 11 IND-enabling candidates across seven oncology and autoimmune programs, with three novel chemical entities (NCEs) advancing into clinical trials. Earlier in his career, he played a key role in the discovery of two approved HCV drugs at Enanta Pharmaceuticals. Dong holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Chicago.

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James serves as the Senior Director of Lab Operations at SEED and has 28 years of experience in drug discovery with a B.S. in Biology from West Chester University. James’ strong leadership and communication skills are critical to SEED’s research workflow and preclinical research development efforts, where he manages both internal departments and external agencies.
Prior to SEED, James led target engagement studies in oncology and neurodegenerative diseases for Cephalon’s small molecule pipeline. His work in CNS drug discovery includes novel primary culture screening, which led to three INDs and the approval of Modafinil. James has also driven target validation and proof-of-concept studies in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s models, developed cell-based assays for oncology targets, and identified mechanisms of action and biomarkers supporting two IND-enabling studies.

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Eric is the Director of Protein Science and brings over 20 years of experience in protein biochemistry and structural biology. As protein science lead at SEED, Eric focuses on rigorously identifying and exploiting weak protein : protein interactions (PPIs) which lie at the starting line of rational molecular glue (MG) development. He and his team synthesize the protein reagents, establish PPI and functional assays, and perform biophyical characterization for driving SEED’s hit-to-lead stage MG discovery campaigns.

Before joining SEED, Eric led the US protein team at OriGene Technologies, overseeing custom protein design and production and managing the portfolio of over 10,000 recombinant proteins. During his postdoctoral training at the NIH, he employed reconstitution and crystallographic methods to resolve structural mechanisms of iron transport/trafficking and autophagosome maturation. Eric earned a Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine while delineating the molecular steps of mitochondrial perforation by the BCL-2 protein family.

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Fei is the Director of Biology and Discovery at SEED. He has 19 years of experience in drug discovery and development. At SEED, he focuses on leading HTS, hit-to-lead, and lead optimization efforts for small molecules targeting viral and tumor pathways.

Before joining SEED, he conducted IND-enabling studies for HBV RNA destabilizers at Arbutus Biopharma and discovered novel HBV capsid assembly modulators during his postdoc research that were licensed to Arbutus Biopharma for further clinical development. Fei holds a Ph.D. in Microorganisms and Biochemical Pharmacy from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College.

Yunkai is the Associate Director of Protein Science and has had over 10 years of experience in assay design and development. He leads efforts in high-throughput screening of molecular glue compounds and the development of target: E3 ubiquitin ligase assays supporting multiple molecular glue discovery programs. His data-driven insights and cross-functional engagement continue to play a pivotal role in accelerating SEED's molecular glue discovery campaign. Prior to SEED, Yunkai led cross-functional assay development and automation platform implementation efforts at Antengene Corp. to advance drug discovery and preclinical research. During his postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he utilized high-throughput screening, high-content imaging, and functional cell-based assays to identify and validate novel combination therapies targeting EGFR TKI resistance in lung cancer. Yunkai holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from St. John's University.

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Daniel Wu is the Principal Scientist and an experienced chemical biologist specializing in bioconjugation, chemical tool development, and mechanistic cell biology. His work bridges chemistry and biology to create actionable molecular tools and translational strategies that accelerate drug discovery. Prior to SEED Therapeutics, Daniel joined GSK’s Chemical Biology group, advancing heterobifunctional conjugation technologies—including ADCs, peptide and oligonucleotide conjugates—and contributing to a program that reached IND filing and was later licensed to launch Solu Therapeutics. He also led efforts in micromapping and interactome mapping to characterize target engagement and mechanisms of action for emerging therapeutic modalities. He earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from SUNY Binghamton, followed by two years at the SUNY Research Foundation developing paclitaxel derivatives, photolabels, and patented azaborine-based bioorthogonal chemistry. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, developing chemioptogenetic tools that enable precise, light-controlled manipulation of protein interactions, integrating small-molecule synthesis with imaging, molecular biology, and cell engineering.

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Shirley is the Director of Corporate Finance and FP&A at SEED. She collaborates closely with the leadership team on a wide range of initiatives, including strategic financial planning, financial reporting, business development, and investor relations. Shirley has over 10 years of experience in financial planning and analysis, financial modeling, business management, and corporate strategy.

Before joining SEED, she served as a product controller, finance and business manager, and lead FP&A analyst for global equity derivatives, treasury services, and corporate resource management teams at JPMorgan and Citi. Shirley holds an M.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Financial Economics from the University of Rochester.