ACGA Celebrates 2025 Award Recipients
The Association of Chinese Geneticists in America is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 ACGA awards, honoring their outstanding contributions to science, clinical services, and education in the field of genetics. These awardees will be celebrated at the ACGA Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 16, 2025, in Boston, MA, held alongside the ASHG Annual Meeting.
2025 ACGA Lifetime Achievement Award
Sau Wai Cheung, Ph.D.
Baylor College of Medicine
Dr. Cheung is honored for her four decades of groundbreaking contributions to clinical genetics. As Director of the Cytogenetics Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine, she spearheaded the development and clinical adoption of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) in 2004, transforming genomic testing and establishing CMA as a first-tier test for prenatal and postnatal conditions, including developmental disorders and intellectual disability. She has authored nearly 300 highly influential publications, expanded our knowledge of microdeletion and microduplication syndromes, and shaped genetic testing practices worldwide. As an educator, she has mentored over 20 fellows, many of whom are now leaders in the field, and co-founded the master’s program in Medical Genetics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, improving genetics education and services across Asia.
2025 ACGA Excellence in Genetics Education Award
Yao-shan Fan, PhD.
Mayo Clinic Florida
Dr. Fan is recognized for more than four decades of dedication to genetics education. He has trained and
mentored hundreds of students, residents, fellows, technologists, and future clinical genetic laboratory directors worldwide. His book Molecular Cytogenetics: Protocols and Applications is one of the first comprehensive resources in clinical molecular cytogenetics. With over 100 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Fan’s teaching has reached audiences worldwide, significantly advancing the dissemination of medical genetics knowledge.
2025 ACGA Excellence in Genetics Service Award
Wuh-Liang Hwu, M.D., Ph.D.
China Medical University Hospital
National Taiwan University College of Medicine
Professor Hwu is an international leader in medical genetics, known for his pioneering work in newborn
screening programs and rare disease treatments. He established the world’s first newborn screening program for Pompe disease, later adopted into the U.S. Recommended Uniform Screening Panel, and Taiwan’s first spinal muscular atrophy screening program. He led the development of the first successful gene therapy for a central nervous system disorder caused by aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AACD), which gained European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval in 2022 and US FDA approval in 2024. He founded the Taiwan Human Genetics Society and co-founded the Asian Pacific Society of Human Genetics.
2025 ACGA Excellence in Genetics Research Award
Sidi Chen, PhD.
Yale School of Medicine
Dr. Chen is recognized for his groundbreaking work at the crossroads of cancer genetics, immunology, and systems biology. His lab has created innovative CRISPR-based in vivo functional genomics platforms to identify genetic factors driving cancer progression, immune evasion, and therapy resistance. These findings have advanced fundamental biology and helped develop new cancer treatments. He has secured over $35 million in research funding from the US NIH and other funding agencies. His works have been published in many highly impactful journals such as Nature Biotechnology, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and Nature Immunology, and have garnered over 12,000 citations. Dr. Chen has founded several biotechnology companies based on his innovations.
2025 ACGA Trainee Awards
Postdoctoral Translational/Clinical Research:
Yinghong Pan. PhD
Advisor: Fen Guo, PhD
UPMC, University of Pittsburgh
Xueyang Pan. PhD.
Advisors: Hugo Bellen, PhD, and Ning Liu, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Postdoctoral Basic Research
Shuai Liu, PhD
Advisor: Lang Wu, PhD
University of Hawaii Cancer Center
We congratulate the awardees and invite you all to join us in Boston in October to celebrate their
accomplishments.
Liming Bao, MD, PhD
President