May 11, 2005 University of Houston Physics Lecturer Receives Scholarship from American Physical Society
Keynote speaker Dr. Nancy Chang, President and CEO of Tanox, Inc., with Dr. Arthur Vailas, UH vice chancellor for research and intellectual property management and vice president for research.
Dr. Nancy Chang, President and CEO of Tanox, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, gave the keynote address at a recent event honoring scholars, leaders, and partners in excellence for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at UH.
Dr. Chang gave an inspirational speech, drawing on her experiences with business and education and relating the challenges she faced as a woman entrepreneur and scientist.
She advised students that their most important asset to potential employers is character, and she encouraged them to learn from the challenges they will face and to grow with the opportunities.
Relating her path from student to CEO, Dr. Chang described how she became interested in biology after reading the book Double Helix by Nobel Laureate Dr. James Watson. “I was seduced by the simplicity and beauty of DNA—biology captured my Passion,” she said.
Armed with a doctorate in biological chemistry from Harvard University, Dr. Chang co-founded her Houston company Tanox, Inc., in 1986 to address significant unmet medical needs in the areas of asthma, allergy, inflammation, and human immune deficiency.
Previously, she served as associate professor of molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine and as director of research for the molecular biology group at Centocor, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. She has served on numerous boards, including the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Dean’s Advisory Council. In 2001, Dr. Chang was inducted into the Texas Science Hall of Fame.
The evening ended with a ceremony to recognize outstanding NSM scholars and to wish them well as they continue their studies and as they begin dynamic careers in their chosen professions.
