Biotechnology Heritage Award
Nancy Chang
2012 Winner: Nancy Chang
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) have selected Nancy Chang as the winner of the 2012 Biotechnology Heritage Award. The award will be presented during BIO’s annual international convention, which will be held in Boston, June 18–21, 2012.
Chang is currently chairman and senior managing director for Asia at OrbiMed Advisors, a health-care investment firm since 2007. Previously, she served as president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Tanox, Inc., until it was sold in 2007. Chang cofounded Tanox, a public company created to address asthma, allergy, inflammation, and diseases affecting the human immune system. From 1986 to 1992 Chang was an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine in the Division of Molecular Virology. Between 1981 and 1986 Chang was employed by Centocor, Inc., serving as the director of research, Molecular Biology Group. Chang serves on the boards of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank in Houston, of BioHouston, of Project Hope, and of the Board of Visitors of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Chang has been honored with numerous awards, including the 2010 Woman of the Year in Medicine and Healthcare from the American Biographical Institute, the BayHelix Lifetime Achievement Award, the Harvard University Crimson Award for Leadership and Community Service, and the Global Business Achievement Hall of Fame Governor’s Award. She has been named one of Forbes’s 25 Notable Chinese Americans and is included in the GoldSea 100: America’s 100 Top Asian Entrepreneurs.
She served on the board of Charles River Laboratories until January 2011, and she currently serves on the boards of a number of private biotechnology companies.
Chang received a Ph.D. in biological chemistry from Harvard University.
About the Biotechnology Heritage Award
The Biotechnology Heritage Award is presented yearly at a special ceremony during the BIO Annual International Convention to honor individuals who have contributed significantly to the growth of biotechnology through discovery, innovation, commercialization, and/or public understanding. In honoring these individuals, the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Biotechnology Industry Organization seek to encourage emulation, inspire achievement, and promote public understanding of modern science, industry, and economics in this rapid-growth area.
The cosponsorship of the award complements the mission of both organizations by advancing their mutual goals of educating the public, nourishing a sense of pride and community within the industry, and developing the record of the remarkable contributions the molecular sciences make to our lives.
About the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers, and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial, and environmental biotechnology products.
About the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF)
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) fosters an understanding of chemistry’s impact on society. An independent nonprofit organization, we strive to
- Inspire a passion for chemistry;
- Highlight chemistry’s role in meeting current social challenges; and
- Preserve the story of chemistry and its technologies and industries across centuries.
CHF maintains major collections of instruments, fine art, photographs, papers, and books. We host conferences and lectures, support research, offer fellowships, and produce educational materials. Our museum and public programs explore subjects ranging from alchemy to nanotechnology.