Dr Qizhou Lian currently is a practicing Authorized Person (AP) for Advanced Therapy Products (ATP) registered on the Pharmacy & Poisons Board of Hong Kong, and serves as AP/Scientific Officer for the HKUMed Laboratory of Cellular Therapeutics, the first cellular therapy cGMP manufacturing facility in University of Hong Kong (HKU). He also is a Principal Investigator in the State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in HKU, an Honorary Professor in Peking University Shenzhen Hospital and Guangzhou Medical University Women and Children’s Medical Centre.

Dr Lian has more than 20 years of experiences in scientific research, bioprocessing and biomanufacturing development of stem cell- and gene-based therapies. In 2014, he pioneered the Asia’s first hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy and successfully saved patients suffered from metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a rare hereditary disease caused by accumulation of fats in brain called sulfatides.   He leads a dynamic interdisciplinary research group in cell and gene therapies that collaborates with academic institutions, industry partners, and leading clinicians in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA). Up to date, he has filed 11 patents and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications. He also has supervised and nurtured over 24 M.Phil./Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral Fellows since 2011.

Dr Lian received his doctoral degree of Medicine (M.D., Ph.D.) from Harbin Medical University in 1999 and was a practicing Cardiologist. Later he was interested in regenerative medicine and spent over 10 years of stem cell research in the Genome Institute of Singapore and Utrecht University Medical Centre Netherlands. He joined HKU as a Research Assistant Professor in 2008 and became Assistant Professor in 2011. In 2018, HKU announced to establish a cellular therapy facility, he resigned his acceptance of Reader (Associate Professor) appointment in the University of Aberdeen UK and joined HKU cellular therapy cGMP manufacturing projects.  In 2019-2020 he was a visiting scientist in Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) Cellular Therapy Facility, systematically involved in stem cell and immune cell cGMP manufacturing projects. He completed Pharmaceutical QP (Qualified Person) training programs held by NSF in UK and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Quality & Good Manufacturing Practice at the University of Strathclyde.