Prof Kao is the President and the Chair Professor at the National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in Taiwan. He was the immediate-past Vice President and the Chair Professor of Translational Medical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). While at HKU, he was the Head of the Institute for Translational Research at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park to support the growth of the biotech ecosystem in Hong Kong. Before joining HKU, he was the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Pharmacy, Surgery, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in the US where he also served as the Associate Executive Director of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Research. The Institute was funded by NIH NCATS in one of the largest federal grants at UW.

Prof Kao obtained a Bachelor and a Master degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University and Case Western Reserve University respectively, he also received a PhD in Macromolecular Science from Case Western. He subsequently worked at the California Institute of Technology and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Prof Kao has wealth of experience and extensive insight into the development of biomedical technologies across academia and industry. He is an elected fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering. He is on several editorial boards and his extensive involvement with industry, regulatory and policy bureaus has enabled him to build a successful record in translating enabling technologies to the market. He has mentored more than 100 undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate students, and clinician scientists from around the world.