BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr.Jun Yan
Chair, Board of Directors, and President
Mr. Yan has over 20 years of experience specializing in cell signal transduction and cancer biology. He has expertise in high throughput screening against validated enzyme targets including protein kinases. Prior to co-founding SignalChem Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 2004, Mr. Yan held senior research positions at Kinetek Pharmaceuticals Inc. and QLT Inc., where he was playing leading roles in novel drug target validation and pipeline development of kinase inhibitors. With his leadership, Jun has built SignalChem Pharmaceuticals Inc into a very profitable business with higher than 20% annual increase in revenue which has been a leading supplier of cell signaling bioreagents for drug discovery and biomedical research. In 2010, Mr. Yan co-founded MetaSignal Therapeutics Inc., a company focusing on developing and commercializing anti-cancer drugs targeting CAIX, a well-known cancer related enzyme. Mr. Yan brings to SLC expertise in kinase biology and has been the driving force of the SLC’s kinase-focused drug discovery platform.
Mr.Michael Chen, MBA
Director
Mr. Chen has more than 25 years of experience in finance management, mergers & acquisitions, financing and business development in a cross-culture environment. He is currently the managing director of DoubleOcean Financial Group, a financial advisory firm that facilitates the cross-border investments between North America and China. Mr. Chen has extensive experiences with public companies listed on TSX and Hong Kong Stock Exchange in the capacity of director of board and/or CFO, including pharmaceutical companies such as Wex Pharmaceuticals and Polo Biology Group, as well as mining companies such as Spur Ventures and Commander Resources and financial services company G-Resources Group Ltd. (HKSE: 1051). He also served as VP Finance of a mining company with investments of $700 million in Yukon between 2012 and 2014. Prior to moving to Canada, Mr. Chen worked in various management positions for eight years at Honeywell International and United Technologies in the United States, two Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Chen received his Bachelor’s degree in International Finance from Peking University, China and his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, USA. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the United States.
Dr.Zaihui Zhang, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President, R&D
Dr. Zaihui Zhang is a co-founder of Signalchem Lifesciences Corporation. He has over 25 years of experience in the development of novel targeted therapies. He has successfully led a wide range of therapeutic programs across different disease areas and has experience working with different classes of biological targets including protein kinases, metallo-enzymes, sodium channels, and transporters. Dr. Zhang has led several therapeutic programs that have been successfully acquired by or partnered with top tier multinational pharmaceutical companies and biotech companies during his tenures at Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Kinetek Pharmaceuticals Inc.. He has played pivotal roles in advancing four small molecules from the discovery stage to the clinical stage. He is a co-author of more than 30 scientific publications and is an inventor/co-inventor of more than 80 patents and patent applications. He brings to SLC expertise in all stages of drug discovery including hit-to-lead, lead optimization, preclinical development, project management and leadership, and intellectual property. Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of British Columbia.