Third Annual Nancy Chang, Ph.D. Research Symposium
Advancing Human Health Through Metabolic Innovation and Novel Therapeutic Platforms
- Date: Friday, Oct. 3, 2025
- Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
- Location: Cullen Auditorium
The Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine will host the Third Annual Nancy Chang, Ph.D. Research Symposium on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025, celebrating research innovation and the cultivation of future scientific leaders. This in-person event will include scientific presentations, catered lunch, and a research poster session in the afternoon.
This year’s symposium will feature a keynote address by Dr. John M. Rice, Partner Emeritus at CincyTech, as well as scientific talks from Baylor College of Medicine faculty and trainees.
We look forward to an inspiring day of science and collaboration!
| 8:30 a.m. | Coffee and Check-In |
| 9 a.m. | Welcome and Introductions Rolando Rumbaut, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine |
| 9:05 a.m. | Carolyn Smith, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Dean of Research, Dean of Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine |
| 9:10 a.m. | Hashem El Serag, M.D., MPH, Margaret M. and Albert B. Alkek Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, Vice President of the Learning Health System, Baylor College of Medicine |
| 9:15 a.m. | Founder’s Address Nancy Chang, Ph.D., President, The Tang Family Foundation; Adjunct Professor, Baylor College of Medicine |
| 9:25 a.m. | Keynote Address John M. Rice, Ph.D., Partner Emeritus, CincyTech |
| 9:50 a.m. | Break |
Faculty Sessions Moderator: Fasiha Kanwal, M.D., MSHS, Nancy Chang, Ph.D., Endowed Professor of Medicine; Director, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Baylor College of Medicine | |
| 10 a.m. | The Potential of Psilocybin as a Geroprotective Agent to Improve Age-Associated Disease Outcomes Louise Hecker, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; Founder and CSO, Fibronox |
| 10:25 a.m. | Gut Check: Metformin’s Surprising Role in Intestinal Sugar Control Mark Herman, M.D., E.L. Wagner, M.D., Chair in Internal Medicine II, Director, Houston Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, Chief, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine |
| 10:50 a.m. | Metabolic Effects of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists-Looking Beyond Weight Loss Mandeep Bajaj, MBBS, Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; Section Chief, Endocrinology and Diabetes, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center |
| 11:15 a.m. | Break |
Trainee Session Moderator: Miguel A. Cruz, Ph.D., Professor and Division Chief, Thrombosis Research, | |
| 11:25 a.m. | AI-Driven Extraction of Colonoscopy and Pathology Report Data and Clinical Decision Support for Polyp Surveillance Ashwin Rao, M.D., T32 Research Track Fellow, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine Mentor: Hashem El-Serag, M.D., M.P.H. |
| 11:38 a.m. | AI-Powered Imaging Combined with Spatial Transcriptomics Reveals Unique Immune Patterns Linked to Emphysema Progression Yun “Alex” Zhang, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine Mentor: Francesca Polverino, M.D., Ph.D. |
| 11:51 a.m. | Combating the Invisible Enemy: Deployment-Related Airborne Matter IMPACTED Veterans’ Systemic Immunity Armando Mallaganes Marrufo, Ph.D., T32 Postdoctoral Associate, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine Mentor: Farrah Kheradmand, M.D., M.S. |
| 12:04 p.m. | Closing Remarks |
| 12:15 p.m. | General Attendee Lunch Rayzor Lounge |
| Meet the Founder Luncheon By invitation only |
| 1:30 p.m. | Session I Poster Presentations |
| 2:30 p.m. | Session II Poster Presentations |
| 3:30 p.m. | Poster Session Awards and Closing |
| 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | Reception and Dinner By invitation only |
About Nancy Chang, Ph.D.
Dr. Nancy Chang is a Taiwanese American biochemist, entrepreneur, business executive, and philanthropist. She completed her undergraduate studies at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and Brown University and pursued doctoral training at the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard Medical School as one of the first few international students. With a Ph.D. in biochemistry and her pioneering postdoctoral research work at Roche on interferons, Nancy joined the founding team at Centocor, where she served as director of research and made substantial contributions to the development of monoclonal antibody as therapeutics and to the HIV field including the development of the first HIV diagnosis assay. Centocor was later acquired by Johnson & Johnson and formed the foundation of Janssen Biotech.
In 1986, Nancy moved to Houston and joined Baylor College of Medicine, where she served as Associate Professor of Virology until 1991. During this tenure, Nancy co-founded Tanox, with a vision to treat immunological diseases including allergy, asthma, and inflammation by using antibodies as a therapeutic agent. With Nancy serving as Chairman and CEO, Tanox achieved the then-largest IPO on NASDAQ in 2000 and, in 2003, launched Xolair, the first biotech product approved for treating patients with moderate and severe asthma. Tanox was acquired in 2007 by Genentech for $919 million.
Following the sale of Tanox, Nancy led OrbiMed’s Asia fund as Chairman, Founder and Managing Director. She served on the board of directors for various institutes including the Federal Reserve Bank of Houston, BioHouston, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (Bio), Charles River Laboratories, and several biotech companies.
Throughout her career, Nancy has received numerous honors from academic, industrial, national, and international organizations. She was named the Most Respected Woman in Biotechnology in 2005, included in Forbes’ Twenty-Five Notable Chinese Americans list in 2008, and, in 2012, became the first woman to receive the Biotechnology Heritage Award.
During her 40-year tenure in the biotechnology industry, Nancy has developed and commercialized several highly successful diagnostic and therapeutic products for cancers, HIV infection and for treating inflammatory disease including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, allergies and asthma.
In 2018, Trogarzo was approved by the FDA for HIV treatment. Trogarzo was originally developed by Tanox as TNX-355 under Dr. Chang. Even today, there are breakthrough drugs which are coming to the market due to Dr. Chang’s work. In 2020, Lilly paid $1.1 billion to acquire Dermira for the anti-IL-13 antibody lebrikizumab. Lebrikizumab was TNX-650, a drug was developed at Tanox under Dr. Chang. Lilly reported the drug’s success in two phase 3 clinical trials in treating moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in late 2021. Lebrikizumab was approved in EU in 2023 and in the US in 2024. In addition, Tanox’s anti-tryptase antibody is in phase III clinical development by Genentech for IgE-independent severe asthma.
Currently, Nancy serves as president of the Tang Family Foundation and dedicates her time to supporting the development of novel scientific breakthroughs aimed at treating unmet medical needs.
Highlights from Previous Years
