Gene Lay (\u8cf4\u6b63\u5149), an alumnus of the NPUST Department of Veterinary Medicine (Class of 1982), and founder and CEO of BioLegend, is a star in Taiwan\u2019s the biotechnology industry. His impressive work has earned him the Medal of Honor from the German Society for Immunology (Deutsche Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Immunologie), and the \u201c2016 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year\u00ae Award\u201d. Additionally, in 2020, his \u201cTotalSeq\u2122-C Human Universal Cocktail v1.0\u201d was selected as one of the top ten innovations of the year by the world-renowned scientific magazine, The Scientist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lay\u2019s dazzling achievements are a source of pride for National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), which will be celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2024. With this important occasion drawing near, NPUST reached out to Lay via a video call to specially invite him to return to his Alma Mater for the upcoming celebration, and to share his wonderful success story with his juniors at the school. The call was personally made by NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang, Secretary Wen-Ling Shih, College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Yi-Yang Lien, Professor Shih-Chu Chen, and alumni of the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Shen-Pang Tsai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the call, Lay pointed to the solid practical training he received during his time at NPUST\u2014how he was provided with a solid foundation in veterinary medicine, and equipped with better clinical operation skills than students from other schools in the country. His senior year was especially important, as it was the time when he developed a special interest in immunology, and when the seeds of his future entrepreneurial endeavors would be planted. He was also influenced by the classic words of Professor Cheng-I Liu, an expert in pathology at the time, who said: \u201cit doesn\u2019t matter if you don\u2019t get into National Taiwan University, start studying hard now, and you will become a teacher of National Taiwan University students in the future\u201d. Lay did work tirelessly during his studies\u2014and he set his focus on the fields of learning that he was interested in. When he graduated, he began his career working in Taiwan\u2019s domestic biotechnology industry, but soon decided to go to the United States to improve his professional ability through further studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a master\u2019s degree in hand, Lay and his friends went on to establish PharMingen with 260,000 US dollars in startup funds. Together, they began developing biological, immunological and medical research products as well as testing reagents, which are widely used. The year was 1987, and the business venture was his first. Ten years later, the company was acquired by BD Biosciences for a large sum of money; but Lay continued to work hard and gain experience in operating and managing large enterprises. When the global economic bubble burst in 2002, Lay saw it as the opportune time to found his second company, BioLegend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BioLegend ultimately established itself in the biomedical sector as a reliable provider of proteins, antibodies, and immune-related reagents. Lay pointed out that if you \u201cpersist in doing the right thing, and if there is a need, the money will come naturally; so profit is not the first consideration.\u201d Predicaments led to opportunity and despite the tense early stages of his business operations, BioLegend grew rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lay eventually developed a relationship with renowned Professor Shu Chien of the University of California, San Diego. Professor Chien\u2019s modest and elegant demeanor and his attitude towards learning and dealing with people deeply influenced Lay, who regards Professor Chien as a mentor. Meanwhile, Chien believes that Lay\u2019s success comes from his honest and sincere personality traits, and his involvement at every level. Even though Lay founded San Diego\u2019s leading biotechnology company, he stood right beside his employees throughout the pandemic. He came in every day, and he always treats his employees as family members\u2014 creating a friendly workplace and an environment positive to everyone\u2019s physical and mental health. BioLegend was able to thrive and become a world-class biological reagent company on account of Lay\u2019s humility and down-to-earth entrepreneurial spirit. Professor Chien believes that even though Lay regards him as a mentor, he feels that they are both each other\u2019s teachers and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lay is also CEO of the Laygend Foundation, which donated US$25 million to the Bioengineering Department of the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego in 2022. In honor of the contribution, the department changed its name to the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering. The huge funding allowed the department to renovate laboratories, expand teaching resources, and purchase research equipment which will allow them to cultivate even more biomedical talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lay is not only a successful biotechnology entrepreneur, but also an enthusiastic philanthropist and educator. His advice: \u201cdon\u2019t limit yourself, don\u2019t underestimate yourself; find your interest, and do what you like. That way, you will have the motivation to delve deeper into your research, and will be able to discover your unlimited potential as you create the broadest pathway forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enthusiastic about public welfare, Lay has often lent his support to medical associations. And through his interaction with the associations, Lay was able to get a pulse on the current situation in the medical industry. In May of this year, Lay made a donation to the Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital through the Laygend Foundation. He also jointly established the Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to cultivating talent, the institute will serve as a link between academia and industry and a testing institution for new drugs. With the cooperation of multiple parties, hopes are to accelerate the development of new medicines for difficult diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, immune system diseases, cancers, and diseases associated with chronic inflammation. The Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, which received its largest donation in history from Laygend, expressed that Lay not only has a profound vision, but also is enthusiastic and selfless in the way he provides financial support, integrates different sectors, and brings together experts in diverse areas so as to make the greatest contribution to human medicine possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a successful entrepreneur, Lay never forgets to give back, and he has been a long-term sponsor of domestic and foreign universities. He described his fascination with immunology as the driving force for his continuous advancement. As his Alma Mater, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology feels honored by his extraordinary achievements. The school is looking forward to welcoming this legend in the field of biomedicine and technology to the school to celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, and wishes Lay continued success and a wonderful life in the future as he continues in his professional role to improve people\u2019s health and benefit all mankind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4419,"template":"","genre":[],"colleges":[54],"visions":[32],"sdgs":[13,28],"class_list":["post-4416","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","colleges-administrative-unit","visions-blue-economy","sdgs-good-health-and-well-being","sdgs-partnerships-for-the-goals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/4416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/4416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genre?post=4416"},{"taxonomy":"colleges","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/colleges?post=4416"},{"taxonomy":"visions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/visions?post=4416"},{"taxonomy":"sdgs","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainability.npust.edu.tw\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sdgs?post=4416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}