Our Organoid Portfolio
Dr. Shian-Jiun (SJ) Shih, CEO, Cofounder.
Dr. Shih is a consultant serving pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, with more than twenty years of industrial experience and specializing in assay development and biomarkers. From 2009 to 2015 she worked at the Translational Medicine Research Centre, Merck Research Laboratories, Merck Sharp & Dohme, most recently as the Director and Site Lead of Molecular Biomarkers and Diagnostics. She led 29 scientists with broad translational research skills, including immunoassays, nucleic acid-based assays and next generation sequencing, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, cell-based assays, immunohistochemistry, and bioinformatics. Her group was responsible for developing clinical biomarker assays to support early phase clinical trials, including those for Keytruda, as well as for collaborating with academic leaders in biomarker discovery, and for building primate disease models for target validation studies.
Prior to joining Merck, she was with Cell Genesys, a biotechnology company developing cell-based immunotherapy and oncolytic adenovirus-based gene therapy products from 2001 to 2008. As the Director of Assay Development there, her group developed quality control and clinical monitoring assays for phase 3 clinical trials and conducted product characterization studies to answer inquiries from FDA, and from regulatory authorities from other countries. During her time at Bayer Pharmaceuticals (2000-2001), SJ successfully developed liquid parenteral formulations and explored several novel drug delivery routes for biological drugs. From 1994 to 2000 she worked at Aventis (currently Sanofi) in various capacities, including characterization and purification of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, development of a cell isolation medical device for bone marrow transplantation, liquid formulation and enhanced cellular delivery for gene therapy products. She started her industrial career in 1993 at BioSource (currently Invitrogen) and produced antibody reagents for research and in vitro diagnostic use.
SJ received a BS degree in Chemistry from National Taiwan University, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of Wisconsin–Madison, and completed her post-doctoral training at the department of Molecular Pharmacology at Stanford University.
Dr. Patty H Kiang, SVP of Business Development
Dr. Kiang is a consultant in the Bio/Pharmaceutical industry supporting CMC Combination Products development and Quality systems. Patty was Head of Device Delivery Development for Genentech. Prior to Genentech, she held positions as Director, Drug Product Delivery for Schering Plough, and Director of Technology Development for West Pharmaceutical Services in Exton.
PA. Patty is a member of the faculty of the PDA’s Training and Research Institute, where she teaches courses on Prefilled Syringe & injection devices and Parenteral Packaging; she has also served as committee or conference chair for USP Packaging Expert Committee, PDA Sterilization of Polymeric Materials Committee and PDA Global Prefilled Syringe & Injection Device Conference. She was president of the Chinese Bioscience Association in Northern CA – 2011 and continue serving as an advisor. She holds five patents in the field of polymeric surface coatings. She received a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Villanova University and holds an MBA from Pennsylvania State University.
David Hsieh, Associate Director
David is a biopharmaceutical researcher with more than 10 years of experience in drug discovery, spanning cancer research, virology, and cell and gene therapy. His primary focus is preclinical cancer research for small molecule therapeutics, informed by his study of targeted therapeutics in lung cancer in the Thoracic Oncology Laboratory at UCSF. He holds a B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley and a M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UCLA.
Lichun Huang, Vice President
Dr. Huang is a biopharmaceutical professional with over 25 years of industry experience, specializing in analytical development, quality control, and CMC strategy for cell and gene therapies, as well as antibody-based therapeutics. She has had critical roles in regulatory and analytical strategy for pivotal CAR-T trials, contributing to FDA and EMA approvals, and has served as CMC analytical lead for Rituxan Hycela BLA. Her expertise spans cross-functional collaboration, lifecycle management of analytical methods, and regulatory interactions, supporting the development, validation, and implementation of potency and release assays for both clinical and commercial products.
Prior to her current role at Cellentia, Dr. Huang held positions at Tessa Therapeutics, Genentech, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Cell Genesys, Corautus Genetics, and Bayer, leading global analytical teams and overseeing assay development, validation, and technology transfer. She has extensive experience in regulatory strategy, assay comparability, and process defense for inspections, and has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications and patents in molecular biology and bioassay development. Dr. Huang earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and received postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute in San Diego, California
Yuker Wang, Vice President
Dr. Wang is an accomplished scientist and R&D leader with more than two decades of experience in molecular diagnostics, genomics, and product development for both In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) and Research Use Only (RUO) applications. With deep expertise in genome sequencing, non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), minimal residual disease (MRD) detection, and oncology diagnostics, Dr. Wang has built a strong track record of driving innovation from early feasibility through successful product launch and commercialization.
Dr. Wang’s career spans several prominent companies in the genomics and diagnostics space. At Personalis, he served as an Associate Director, where he directed the development of a WES Core Exome product that generated over $20 million in revenue in 2024. He also characterized the ultra-sensitive NeXT Personal MRD test and managed a CDx project.
Prior to that, at Roche Sequencing Solutions, he was a Principal Scientist II, playing a key role in the FDA 510(k) submission for the Harmony NIPT product. His earlier work at Roche Molecular Systems included leading the development of the company’s first Life Science Research product.
Further experience includes serving as a Director of Assay Research at Vitruvian Networks, co-developing fetal cell based NIPT technology at CellScape Corporation, and holding various roles at Affymetrix/ParAllele Bioscience, where he was a core team member in the development and launch of the OncoScan products.
Dr. Wang holds a Ph.D. in Biophysical Chemistry from New York University, where he pioneered the use of Optical Mapping for chromosomal DNA analysis. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford School of Medicine, characterizing genetic lesions for Williams syndrome. His work has resulted in more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, patents, and invited presentations at scientific conferences and symposia.