Danny Lu: Passionate About Honoring Patients

Meet Danny! He’s a first-generation American, born to parents displaced by the Vietnam War. He remembers the struggles his family endured as they settled in Texas and honors those memories through his work as a Senior Clinical Research Associate Functional Manager at BeiGene.

“My family lived in poverty. They didn't know where their next meal was coming from,” Danny says. “But we also had a strong family, and it was instilled in us that you need to work hard and be passionate about what you do.”

Danny Lu, center, celebrates high school graduation with classmates.

Danny always knew he wanted to find work that helps people. Initially, he thought he’d fulfill that dream by becoming a doctor, so he enrolled in the pre-med program at the University of Texas, Dallas. Later, he shifted gears to pursue a career in clinical research and gained a new appreciation for the role patient volunteers play in the study of potential new medicines.

“So many people just assume that the FDA does all these trials, that they lead them and then somehow, magically, a drug is approved,” Danny says. “Not many people know what’s really involved or that there were a lot of patients who had to volunteer to be part of these clinical trials for the process to start.”

Danny Lu at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference.

Danny found his calling in the fight against cancer when he was assigned to work on a clinical trial for chemotherapy offered to patients in need of second- or third-line treatment options. He remembers a moment a few weeks into the trial when he realized the data he was reviewing represented people who would likely lose their lives to cancer.

“That hit me really hard, to realize that they, the patients, were selflessly giving up their final days, weeks or months not just for themselves but for future patients,” Danny recalls. “It was at that point I decided I would do everything in my power to find a job with a company that honors patients and would allow me to advocate fully for them, to do my part in making sure we, as clinical researchers, remember there is a patient behind every piece of data.”

He found that opportunity with BeiGene.

Today, Danny leads a team of 30 colleagues, all focused on respecting and valuing the patients reflected in the clinical trial data they manage. “All we see is the patient data, a subject number, but there’s a patient behind every number, and that’s what gets me to work every single day,” Danny says.?

Motivated colleagues like Danny advance our fight against cancer around the world.

#MeetBeiGene and learn more about our vision to transform the biotechnology industry.