Dr. Hongyun Tai is Co-founder and CEO of Branca Bunús Ltd, an Irish biotechnology company developing non-viral technologies for gene and cell therapy. She has a multidisciplinary background spanning polymer chemistry, biomaterials, gene delivery, technology translation and biotechnology entrepreneurship.

Hongyun received her BSc and MSc from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and completed her PhD in Polymer Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. Following her doctoral studies, she undertook research at the University of Washington in Seattle through an EPSRC Independent Fellowship before returning to the UK. She subsequently pursued an academic career at Bangor University, where she served as Senior Lecturer (equivalent to Associate Professor) and conducted research in polymeric biomaterials and their biomedical applications.

She later transitioned from academia into biotechnology entrepreneurship, focusing on translating polymer-based technologies from scientific discovery towards commercial and therapeutic applications. As CEO of Branca Bunús, she leads the development and translation of its HPAE non-viral gene delivery platform and the company’s broader gene medicine strategy.

Her interests include non-viral gene delivery, advanced therapeutics, biotechnology commercialisation, and building collaborations across academia, industry and clinical communities to accelerate the translation of cell and gene therapies.