Leadership
Nan Tang, M.D., Ph.D.
Founder & Chairman
Nan Tang, M.D., Ph.D., is the founder and chairman of Pulmongene, and currently the Principal Investigator of National Institute of Biological Sciences (NIBS). Dr. Tang is an internationally renowned expert in pulmonary fibrosis and alveolar regeneration and has more than 20 years’ experience in investigating molecular and cellular drivers that promote alveolar regeneration. She established the first Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) mouse model that recapitulates human pathology and identified novel therapeutic targets of lung diseases.
Dr. Tang obtained her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego and completed her postdoctoral training at University of California, San Francisco. She is also trained as a physician and earned her medical degree from Medical School of Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Wenqi Hu, Ph.D.
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Wenqi Hu joined Pulmongene Ltd. as CTO in 2023. He brings to Pulmongene over twenty years of extensive R&D and management experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
Before joining Pulmongene, Dr. Hu served as board director and CSO of Mabworks Biotech Ltd. Prior to that, he worked as VP of Mabspace Pharmaceuticals Inc. and senior director of Crown Biosciences Inc. Before joining Crown Biosciences Inc., Dr. Hu held various roles with increasing responsibilities at Merck & Co., Inc and Verenium Corp. (now part of BASF).
He has led the discovery of multiple therapeutic antibodies which are in phase I to III clinical trials and holds over 30 granted patents in US and China.
Dr. Hu obtained his doctoral degree in Plant Biology from Hunan Agricultural University (a joint program with Michigan State University). He completed his postdoctoral training in Microbiology and Immunology from University of Western Ontario and University of Guelph.
Rui Zhao, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Zhao joined Pulmongene since inception with more than 15 years of experience in lung diseases and novel target discovery. She oversees all early research and clinical development including target identification & validation, pharmacology, PK/PD, toxicology, biomarker, and clinical pharmacology.
Prior to joining Pulmongene, Dr. Zhao worked at Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), Novartis, where she led the respiratory drug portfolio to uncover first-in-class respiratory medicines and oversaw multiple project teams working across different disease areas.
Dr. Zhao received her B.S. from China Agricultural University in 2003 and Ph.D. from National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing in 2008. She completed her postdoc training in the laboratory of Dr. Jayaraj Rajagopal at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
Hunter C. Gillies, M.B.Ch.B
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Hunter C. Gillies joined Pulmongene as Chief Medical Officer, bringing over 25 years of clinical development, regulatory strategy, and medical leadership experience in pulmonary and cardiopulmonary diseases.
Prior to joining Pulmongene, Dr. Gillies served as Chief Medical Officer at Aerovate Therapeutics, where he built and led the clinical development, operations, and medical affairs organization and designed the first operationally seamless Phase 2b/3 study in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Earlier, he served as Senior Director of Clinical Research at Gilead Sciences, where he led the landmark AMBITION PAH study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, resulting in a major label change and updated clinical guidelines. Dr. Gillies also held roles of increasing responsibility at Pfizer, leading global clinical development strategies for pulmonary hypertension therapies.
Dr. Gillies earned his M.B.Ch.B. from the University of Cape Town, along with a Master of Science in Medicine (Exercise Science) and a Diploma in Sports & Exercise Medicine from Queen Mary University, London.