Liang Shan

Shan Liang is an award-winning HIV immunologist who left a tenured associate professor position at Washington University School of Medicine in August 2025 to join the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation (SMART), where he heads the Institute of Human Immunology. His move is part of the growing wave of top Chinese-American scientists returning to China.

Shan has dedicated his research career to studying the immunobiology of HIV infection and developing strategies to combat the virus. His most notable breakthrough includes probing the function of the CARD8 inflammasome — a natural alarm system inside immune cells that recognises active HIV protease and triggers destruction of infected cells.

At SMART in Shenzhen, Shan's research goal is to identify unknown immune mechanisms capable of clearing HIV from the body. He has stated particular interest in understanding why, with the exception of rare bone-marrow transplant cases, HIV remains incurable despite decades of research.