Advisory Board

Dr. Mei Zhang, MD

In 1990 Mei Zhang, MD, became a pioneer in total follicular unit hair transplantation and microscopic dissection, focusing on transforming hair restoration surgery from cosmetically unacceptable results into aesthetically pleasing results. Following the lead of Drs. Xiao Li and Baowen Wang, in 1994, Dr. Zhang adopted microscopic dissection of strip-based surgery (FUT). In 1998 Dr. Zhang became one of the first diplomats of the Chinese Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (CBHRS) and later served on the examination committee and board of directors of the CBHRS. Dr. Zhang led the Newcomer program of the Chinese Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (CSHRS) in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 Dr. Zhang chaired the 10th annual meeting of the CSHRS in Shanghai, China. In 2003 Dr. Zhang formed the first conference to teach FUE at the Yangtze Masters’ discussion, where he led FUE to DHI. DHI promptly began spreading FUE throughout Asia. In 2019 Dr. Zhang partnered FUE China with Tao Wang and The China Truth to become the first conference to have a live radio broadcast from the FUE China meeting in Beijing, China. In 2020 Dr. Zhang was the first scientific director of The China Hair Loss Summit, which became the widest-attended webinar devoted to surgical, non-surgical, and regenerative medicine focused on treating hair loss. Dr. Zhang has chaired 13 major international conferences in China, and Dr. Zhang has also been a scientific director for more conferences devoted to FUE than any other physician in China.

Dr. Zhang received her first patent for innovative surgical instruments in 1998 and has acquired six additional patents from the SIPO, along with numerous patent-pending devices. In 2003 Dr. Zhang pioneered the successful methods of performing follicular unit extraction (FUE), began developing the instruments necessary to perform FUE, and formed her instrument company, Zhang Instruments. Zhang Instruments has several international distributors of the devices designed and manufactured by Dr. Zhang. Dr. Zhang also began teaching FUE to other physicians in 2003 and continues training physicians to perform FUE. Today FUE is the most popular hair restoration surgery procedure in China, and FUE still depends on the principles and mechanisms described by Dr. Zhang in 2003. In 2003 Dr. Zhang opened the first FUE clinics in Asia (Beijing, China, and Shanghai, China) and, in 2007, the first FUE clinic in Europe (Paris, France). In 2005 Dr. Zhang developed the first complex motion profile device, including rotation, oscillation, and rotation, followed by oscillation for FUE. Dr. Zhang filed patents on all significant alterations in punch designs for FUE in 2006. Manufacturers continue to copy these designs. Dr. Zhang has been an invited speaker at the Chinese Dermatology Society (2011), Japan Dermatology Association (2013), Asian Association of Hair Restoration Surgery (2010), China’s regenerative hair loss summit (2013), and the first international hair loss conferences in Shanghai, China (2017) and Seoul, South Korea (2018). In 2013 Dr. Zhang became the 20th recipient of the Gold Follicle from the Chinese Society of Hair Restoration Surgery in 2013. In 2014 Dr. Zhang opened a hands-on FUE training center with Dr. Liyuan Chen in Guangzhou, China. In 2019 Dr. Zhang received the Lifetime Achievement Award from FUE China, which made her the first to receive both a Gold Follicle Award and Lifetime Achievement award.

Dr. Zhang remains one of the strongest proponents of FUE and a leader in regenerative medicine for hair loss. Dr. Zhang is currently editing the first textbook (Springer Nature) related to regenerative medicine for hair loss. Dr. Zhang frequently lectures for FUE China, IMCAS, ISAPS, SOFCEP, and FATS on regenerative medicine and hair loss. In addition, she serves as vice president of the Academy of Regenerative Medicine and Surgery Society (AIRMES) in China. She has authored numerous papers and chapters related to regenerative medicine and hair restoration surgery. Dr. Zhang currently practices in Beijing, China, and Shanghai, China.

Prof. Cao Wanbo, MD, PhD

Prof. Cao Wanbo, MD, PhD is recognized worldwide as an expert in the field of cosmetic procedural dermatology, with expertise in injectables (fillers, neurotoxins, and lipolysis), lasers (Q-switched nano and picosecond laser for tattoo removal and pigmentary disorders), and drug-delivery procedures for both medical and cosmetic indications (such as scars and hair growth). Prof. Cao obtained his medical degree (2004), medical residency in dermatology (2009), and science doctor in dermatology (PhD, 2012) all from Peking University. He became an expert in hair growth, wound healing, inflammation, drug eruptions, photodynamic therapy, and leprosy during his years involved in research at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. After that period, he dedicated his efforts for Chemical Peeling when he became Associate Professor (tenure track) of Dermatology at Fudan University until 2018.

Prof. Cao has given over 80 lectures in national and international dermatology meetings in China and across Asia, and over 100 peer-reviewed articles published. He has been a chair of the main academic meetings of dermatology in China, including the China Dermatology Conference, in Shanghai, 2019, he was chair of the Basic Cosmetic Dermatology session, and the China Cosmetic Dermatology Conference, in Guangzhou, 2019, he was chair of the Pigmentary Lesions session. Many other organization/lectures in the Chinese Society of Dermatology, Chinese Association of Laser Medicine and Surgery, and Chinese Medical Association. Dr. Cao has been selected as one of the few oral examiners for the Chinese Board of Dermatology during a period it was implemented (2015-2016). He has served as an Ad hoc consultant for funding agencies, such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

In 2019 Dr. Cao was involved in multiple clinical trials about the use of novel JAK inhibitors for the treatment of severe Alopecia Areata, during his post-doctorate year at Peking Union Medical College, during that period, he developed a new method for evaluating the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score, with the use of the thumb as a precise measurement of 1% of the scalp surface area.

Since 2020 Prof. Cao is the Medical Director of Clinical Trials at the Shanghai Skin Hospital, and is the Director of the Center for Lasers and Aesthetics of Shanghai Skin Hospital, where he runs the Shanghai Skin Hospital Hair Clinic.

Dr. Xiao Wen:

Dermatologist, trichologist, and hair surgeon

• Director of the Trichology Unit at Peking University Hospital and the Trichology and Hair Transplant
  Unit at Beijing Aesthetic Clinic, China
• Doctor of Medicine and Professor of Dermatology at Tsinghua University
• Coordinator of clinical research at the Dermatology Department of Peking University Hospital
• Leads an active research group studying different forms of alopecia (#TricoHRC) at the ChineseAcademy of Sciences.
• Coordinator of the Chinese Society of Trichology
• Secretary General of the Asian Hair Research Society
• Director of the International Master’s Degree in Trichology and Hair Transplantation at Tsinghua
  University
• Expert in trichology (diagnosis and treatment of alopecias) and hair transplant (FUSS and FUE
  techniques)
• Creator of medical applications and expert in new technologies, e-health, and teledermatology
  President of the Association of Researchers in Digital Health in China

Dr. Chen Hui:

Dermatologist, trichologist and hair surgeon

• Director of the Trichology Unit at Peking University Hospital and the Trichology and Hair Transplant Unit at Beijing Aesthetic Clinic, China
• PhD in Medicine and Professor of Dermatology at Tsinghua University
• Secretary General of the Chinese Society of Dermatology
• Coordinator of the Chinese Society of Trichology and leads a research group on different forms of alopecia
• Has published over 275 scientific articles and is a regular speaker at international hair research conferences in Asia
• Secretary General of the Asian Hair Research Society and member of the International Society of Dermatology
• Director of the International Master’s Degree in Trichology and Hair Transplantation at Tsinghua University
• Expert in hair research, androgenetic alopecia, alopecia areata, cicatricial alopecias, trichoscopy and hair transplant