team
Board & Management
J. Gene Wang, M.D., PhD
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. J. Gene Wang is a physician scientist with a nearly two-decade career in advancing scientific innovations to address patients’ needs across multiple therapeutic areas, including immunology/inflammation (Abbott, GSK & Novartis) and oncology (Merck). He led cross-functional teams to orchestrate strategy and execution in the successful clinical development of Humira® (adalimumab), Varubi® (rolapitant), Zolinza® (vorinostat) and Gardasil® (human papilloma virus vaccine). He also spearheaded efforts to identify novel targets and steered the transition of multiple first-in-class compounds from discovery to clinical proof-of-concept. Dr. Wang received his MD from Peking University Medical Center and PhD in Immunobiology from Yale University, where he researched T lymphocyte co-stimulation mechanisms. He completed his medical residency training at Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Wang launched Immetas with Dr. Sinclair in October, 2018.
David A. Sinclair, PhD, AO
Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor
David Sinclair, PhD, AO, is an entrepreneur and world leader in aging research. He is a tenured Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School. He is best known for his work on genes and small molecules that delay aging, including the Sirtuin genes, resveratrol and NAD precursors. He has published over 180 scientific papers, is a co-inventor on more than 50 patents and has co-founded 13 biotechnology companies. He serves as co-chief editor of the scientific journal Aging and had received 35 honors including the Australian Medical Research Medal and the US NIH Director’s Pioneer award. Dr. Sinclair was named as one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2014 and TIME’s “50 Most Influential People in Health Care” in 2018. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia. His book, Lifespan, became a New York Times best seller in 2019.
Lu Huang, M.D., M.B.A.
Director
Dr. Huang is Managing Director of Morningside Ventures and leads Morningside’s life science/healthcare investment team in Greater China. Dr. Huang has more than 20 years combined experience in the industry as a clinician and a venture investor. Since joining Morningside in 2003, Dr. Huang has led over three dozen life-science/healthcare investments in China, Europe and the North America, representing Morningside on various company boards. Morningside’s life-science/healthcare investments cover multiple sectors, including bio-pharmaceuticals, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, healthcare services, healthcare IT, and healthcare insurance. Prior to joining Morningside, Dr. Huang was with Continuum Health Partners in New York City, an organization that provides integrated healthcare management services throughout the New York metropolitan region. Dr. Huang holds her medical degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University Medical School (Former Shanghai Second Medical University), and she trained and practiced in Obstetrics/Gynecology. She received her M.B.A. degree from St. John’s University, New York.
Jay Guo, PhD
Senior Director of Biologics Discovery & Development
Jay Guo is a seasoned researcher and protein engineer with 15 years of experience in industry and academia. He developed deep knowledge in biologics discovery and development, with strong expertise in bi-specific and fusion protein design, antibody generation and assay development. Prior to joining Immetas, Jay was a principal scientist at Abbvie where he developed a state-of-the-art screening platform to discover novel therapeutics for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. He led research teams to develop and execute strategies for biologic discovery, and achieved various development milestones in a multi-tasking fast-paced environment. Jay received Bachelor and Master of Science from Tsinghua University, PhD from University of Texas at Austin where he studied cellular response to DNA damage and oxidative stress in Ataxia-Telangiectasia. He conducted his postdoc research at Harvard Medical School where he used CRISPR and RNAi technologies to screen synthetical lethality against breast cancer. Jay joined Immetas in April, 2021
Jill S. Tang, MBA
Vice President, Finance and Operations
Ms. Tang is a seasoned financial operations manager, with a decade career at Paloma Partners, a hedge fund with over $3 billion under management. At Paloma, she was the operations manager of New China Management, the investment manager of Cathay Investment Fund, a close-end fund traded on the Irish Stock Exchange. She served as the liaison at the Fund’s global headquarters, with investors, underwriters and service office. She supervised the day-to-day operations, tracked the monthly returns on the investment portfolio, performed financial analysis and generated reports. She also evaluated investment opportunities in China, leading to the acquisition of interests in multiple industry leaders in China. Prior to Paloma, Ms. Tang worked as a marketing analyst at Torrington Company/Ingersoll Rand Company. Ms. Tang received her BS degree in finance from the University of Hartford, and her MBA from Rutgers University. Ms. Tang joined Immetas in May 2019.
Scientific Advisor
Steven M. Albelda, M.D.
Professor of Medicine. Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Albelda is the William Maul Measey Professor of Medicine, Vice Chief for Research in the Pulmonary Division, Director of the Thoracic Oncology Research Laboratory, and co-Director of the Translational Center of Excellence for Lung Cancer, at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. . Dr. Albelda has led an NCI-funded Program Project aimed at developing immune-gene therapy for thoracic cancers for the past 23 years. The project has supported a series of Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for patients with mesothelioma and lung cancer. The major areas of interest in his laboratory are augmentation of anti-tumor immune effects, adoptive T cell transfer, and the tumor microenvironment. He received his MD degree and clinical internal medicine and pulmonary post-graduate training at the University of Pennsylvania.