Chia-Ning Shen

Research Fellow/Professor
Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinic

​Dr. Chia-Ning Shen is currently a research fellow in the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Dr. Shen earned his PhD from Developmental Biology Program, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, United Kingdom in 2002. From 2002 to 2004, Dr. Shen worked as a research officer in the Centre for Regenerative Medicine in University of Bath. Dr. Shen came back to Taiwan and joined the Genomics Research Center of Academia Sinica in the summer of 2004. Dr. Shen's research interest primarily focuses on two fields, cancer stem cells and regenerative medicine. He currently focuses on investigating mechanisms involved in naturally occurring somatic cell reprogramming. Based dissecting the basis of cell differentiation and transdifferentiation, Dr. Shen aims to develop methodologies to trigger tissue regeneration and to identify the initial factors for neoplastic transformation in somatic cells. As of today, Dr. Shen has published over 90 articles in world-renowned journals which have been cited for more than 3700 times.

Aside from conducting research, Dr. Shen has also been responsible for coordinating academic activities and overseeing administrative work at the Genomics Research Center as the Deputy Director from 2013 to 2019. He has also served as Acting Division Director of Biotechnology Incubation Center in the Genomics Research Center for incubating biotechnology companies that licensed technologies from Academia Sinica. Dr. Shen joined Biomedical Translation Research Center in September 2019. From September 2019 to December 2022, Dr. Shen served as CEO of BioHub Taiwan (Innovation & Incubation Center, Biomedical Translation Research Center) to aid to establish the ecosystem to incubate biotech startups at National Biotechnology Research Park. Currently, Dr. Shen is still a chief PI managing the core facilities for translational medicine at National Biotechnology Research Park. Dr. Shen was involved in the establishment of Taiwan Society for stem cell research (TSSCR) in 2005 aiming at providing opportunities for close interactions among stem cell researchers in Taiwan. Dr. Shen has been served as TSSCR president from 2017 to 2021. TSSCR cooperates with the government to implement relevant cell therapy legislation and policies, and jointly establish a cell therapy physician training course with Taiwan Association for Cell Therapy (TACT) and Formosa Association for Regenerative Medicine (FARM).