About Us
In January 2020, COVID-19 was taking hold of Wuhan China when two Chinese-born Americans, both active in public health, became extremely concerned. Robert Lu, PhD and Qiuyang Zhang, MD knew they had to respond, fast. With the help of many volunteers, Robert and Qiuyang raised donations, sourced supplies, vetted items for quality, arranged for flights and delivered 400,000 pairs of medical gloves, 30,000 medical masks, 7,000 protective gowns, 4,000 pairs of medical goggles, and 254 oxygen generators to hospitals in need. As the virus spread quickly to other countries, Robert and Qiuyang founded the nonprofit Pandemic Responders to aid communities significantly impacted by COVID-19 such as Boston, New York, Los Minneapolis, Honduras, Haiti and others.
Leadership Team
Dr. Hongxiang (Robert) Lu, Founder and Board Member
Dr Hongxiang (Robert) Lu has worked with several Boston biotech companies such as Shire, Genzyme, Percivia and Solid Biosciences. Over the last 15+ years he has become a recognized expert in leading biologic drug development, specifically in process development and manufacturing. Robert is currently VP of Technical Operations for a Cambridge biotech company.
Robert came to the US in 1998 to complete his PhD at Brown University where he conducted research on antibiotic polyketide production mechanism. He also spent a year at Harvard Medical School studying the persistence of Epstein-Barr virus, which infects 95% of the US population.
Dr. Qiuyang Zhang, Founder and Board Member
Qiuyang Zhang is Founder/CEO of the Council For US-China Medical Technology Exchange, which has created over 260 educational programs in the US and China over the course of 13 years. He is also a founding member of the Changchung Glory Hospital, which provides 120 beds and 260 staff to patients in need.
Qiuyang received his MD from Changchung TMC medical school and completed his residency at the Northwestern University Feignberg School of Medicine.
Board of Directors
Joseph Yao, M.D, Board Member
For 21 years Dr. Joseph Yao has led the Clinical Microbiology Division, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at a major hospital in Minnesota. He is Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Associate Professor of Medicine as well as Assistant Professor of Microbiology. Yao's teaching, research and publication interests concern the development, quality control and cost-effective use of serologic and molecular diagnostic tests in infectious diseases.
Yao earned his MD at the University of Manitoba. He was a Fellow in Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a Resident in Medical Microbiology with University of Toronto Affiliated Hospitals.
Robert F. Priddy, Board Member
Robert F. Priddy is the president of Third Evolution, which has worked with over 1600 physicians to create meaningful careers in nontraditional institutions. Priddy works with senior-level physicians to leverage their medical expertise in leading-edge organizations. His innovative approach is recognized by today’s leaders in teaching, practicing, planning, financing, and delivering healthcare.
Priddy holds a master's degree in management from Frostburg State College with an emphasis in finance. He is a Certified Birkman Consultant for high-powered teams.
Associates
Lisa Becker is a free lance writer.
Tingxi Chen is a research associate focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) with City University of Hong Kong. She has also served as a public relations intern with the United Nations and a social media intern with City University of Hong Kong.
Wei Hui is a financial advisor at EdwardJones who also has a master’s degree in gerontology.
Nicole Le is a credit quality analyst at Bank of America. She is interested in financial modeling including creating risk analysis and designing risk metrics for monitoring systems.
Maoqin Tang is a writer and editor with an interest in developing Chinese-American communities. She earned a PhD in religious studies from Boston University and has taught at the college level.
Michelle Wang is a senior systems analyst at Accenture.
