Lina Yao

Dr. Yao has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and a proven track record of the progression of small molecules and antibodies from discovery to clinical development. In 2018, Dr. Yao co-founded Teon Therapeutics, a company that focuses on the treatment of cancer by blocking tumor-induced immunosuppression. Prior to Teon, Dr. Yao served as a Senior Director of Biology at Gilead Sciences where she led a team of 30 scientists and contributed to the growth and success of Gilead’s pipeline across several therapeutic areas including inflammation, oncology, fibrotic and cardiovascular metabolic disorders. Dr. Yao supervised the preclinical combination study of Ambrisentan® and Tadalafil (AMBITION trial) that supported the approval of the combination therapy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Dr. Yao contributed to the development of Selonsertib, an ASK1 inhibitor for fibrotic diseases (Phase 3). Prior to joining Gilead, Dr. Yao served as Director of Biology at CV Therapeutics where she led ALDH2 biology in developing ANS-6637, an ALDH2 inhibitor that has progressed to Phase 2 clinical trials for drug addiction.

Prior to CV Therapeutics, Dr. Yao held the position of Assistant Professor at the University of California San Francisco, Department of Neurology. She studied mechanisms and interactions of G-protein coupled receptors in drug addiction and other CNS diseases. She is an inventor of more than 10 Issued US Patents and has authored/co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters.

Dr. Yao received her Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and completed her postdoctoral research at the University of California San Francisco.