Lily Zou, PhD, MBA, is the co-founder and CEO of Degron Therapeutics. She is a seasoned executive with rich scientific knowledge in drug discovery and development, and extensive business and commercial expertise. Dr. Zou led Degron's successful capital raise, technology platform expansion, and continued advancement of its pipeline programs.

Prior to joining Degron, Dr. Zou served as CEO of Fosun Pharma USA, Vice President of Fosun Pharma Group, Healthcare Partner of Fosun Pharma, and Chairman of the Board or Board member of four Fosun-invested companies. Dr. Zou built and grew Fosun Pharma’s US business and founded Fosun Pharma’s incubator, Boston-based Fusion Bioventures, which invests and incubates early-stage biotech companies. Dr. Zou also built a sales and marketing team in the US for Fosun Pharma’s drugs and diagnostics, and launched Fosun Pharma’s first products in 2019.

Prior to working at Fosun, Dr. Zou worked at a top management consulting firm (Bain), large pharma companies (Novartis/Sandoz, Wyeth, Millennium), and small biotech startups (ArQule, Coley).

Dr. Zou received a BS from Peking University, a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Cornell University, and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Yong Cang, PhD, is the co-founder and CSO of Degron Therapeutics. He is a scientific leader in targeted protein degradation, ubiquitin ligase biology and cancer immunotherapy with more than 30 publications in top biomedical journals. Dr. Cang pioneers novel molecular glue degrader discovery strategies, with a focus on screening approach development and mechanistic understanding of interactions between molecular glue drugs, ubiquitin ligases and neo-substrates. 

Dr. Cang is a professor and the head of the Laboratory of Targeted Protein Degradation at the School of Life Science and Technology at ShanghaiTech University. He previously was an assistant professor at the NCI-designated Cancer Center of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and a professor at Zhejiang University. Dr. Cang consulted for numerous pharmaceutical companies and venture capital funds.

Dr. Cang received a BS from Fudan University and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his postdoctoral training with Professor Stephen Goff at Columbia University and HHMI.

Xiaobing Qian, MD, PhD, is Degron's Chief Medical Officer/Chief Development Officer. In this role, Dr. Qian leads the company's translational research, preclinical development and clinical development, as well as program management functions to advance the company's pipeline from development candidate nomination to clinical proof of concept.

Dr. Qian has more than 25 years of comprehensive novel drug discovery and development experience and proven tracker records in leading teams and projects in the US and China at several biotech companies. Dr. Qian has numerous patents and publications from her innovative work in RNA editing, gene therapy, small molecule kinase inhibitors, and biological drugs. She also contributed to various partnerships, licensing deals, acquisition, and funding achievements.

Dr. Qian started her research career at Avigen, Inc, where she co-invented led preclinical testing of AAV gene therapy for the treatment of hemophilia A. She was Executive Director, Drug Development at CGI Pharmaceuticals, where she led target discovery and validation, pharmacology, and preclinical development of small molecule kinase inhibitor drugs for cancers and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Qian was Executive Director of Early Clinical Development and Head of Translational Medicine Strategy at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where she conducted indication research, led global clinical trials, and contributed to development strategy of blockbuster drugs across multiple therapeutic areas. Dr. Qian served as VP of Clinical Development and VP of Global Medical Evaluations & Strategy at Boston Pharmaceuticals, prior to joining Degron.

Dr. Qian received her MD from Peking University Medical School and holds USMLE certificate. She obtained her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago. Her postdoctoral research at the Gladstone Institutes at the University of California, San Francisco was supported by American Heart Association Grants. Dr. Qian completed her study of TRIUM Global EMBA, a premier program delivered by NYU Stern/London School of Economics/Paris HEC.

Zhongdong Zhao, PhD, is Vice President of Chemistry of Degron Therapeutics. She brings over 20 years of experience in small molecule drug discovery, with deep expertise in target validation, lead optimization and clinical candidate selection. Prior to joining Degron, Dr. Zhao spent 15 years at Gilead Sciences, where she led medicinal chemistry team and played a key role in advancing multiple compounds from early discovery through clinical development across therapeutic areas including oncology, autoimmune inflammation diseases, metabolic disorders, and virology. Prior to working at Gilead, Dr. Zhao worked at CGI Pharmaceuticals, where she collaborated with the team on the discovery of a reversible BTK inhibitor for inflammation and autoimmune disease.

Dr. Zhao has a strong track record of translating cutting-edge science into potential therapies, with four compounds in PhII/III clinical trials. Dr. Zhao is the inventor or co-inventor of over 40 issued small molecule patents or applications and has authored over 10 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Dr. Zhao holds her BS in Chemistry from Beijing University of Science and Technology, MS in Applied Chemistry from Beijing University of Chemical Technology and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Queen’s University in Canada, where she conducted research in Professor Victor Snieckus’s group.

Mark Ashwell is a world-renowned medicinal chemist, particularly in rational drug design of small molecule inhibitors, with a track record of creating, growing and advancing high-value R&D clinical portfolios (>15 INDs). Dr. Ashwell previously served as the head of chemistry and executive leadership at Arqule and Nimbus, after 10 years of discovery chemistry at Wyeth, where he led small molecule R&D and technology advancements across multiple target classes and therapeutic areas.

Dr. Ashwell received a BS in Chemistry and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from University of Birmingham.