Junchen Diao, Ph.D.

Fannin Innovation Studio is a for-profit, early-stage, life sciences development group. We bridge the gap between academic research and commercialization. Fannin in-licenses assets or technologies from academic institutions and develops them internally through clinical proof of concept. Our experienced team, with diverse business backgrounds, commercialization experience, and strong entrepreneurial knowhow actively manages the product development, while collaborating actively with our academic founders on writing grant applications and advancing the science. • Scouted and performed due diligence of novel therapeutics and diagnostics technologies in academia (Texas Medical Center, NIH, etc.) and pharmaceutical companies (Janssen, Takeda, etc.). • Initiated and engaged in conversations with pharmaceutical companies for Fannin’s existing technologies. • Explored and initiated collaborations with Chinese pharmaceutical companies, CROs, investors, incubators and industrial parks. • Participated in the fund raising of two Fannin’s portfolio companies. Pulmotect and Procyrion.

• Performed market discovery (new indication of Fannin’s existing therapeutics) and analysis for 3 Fannin technologies that developed a small molecule drug, a biologics drug and a point-of-care diagnostics device. • Wrote R&D report, prepared data package and slides deck for an asthma drug, and analyzed patents’ claims. Presented data and analysis to inventors and collaborators.

• Built and characterized an artificial system composed of synthetic gene circuits controlling a multidrug resistance pump for the future study of drug and biofuel secretion for clinical or industrial purposes. • Studied genetic evolution of synthetic gene circuits in constant adverse environment.

• Characterized the relationship between gp41 C-HR domain in HIV-1 and its antigenicity aiming for development of efficient HIV vaccine. Manuscript in preparation. • Characterized the relationship between V3 CTL epitope density in recombinant single molecule antigen and its induced CD8+ T cell response for HIV vaccine. Led to publication in Vaccine.