Chee-Liang Leo Miao Gu's Obituary
September 1951 ~ July 2023
Chee-Liang Leo Miao Gu, a scientist, an entrepreneur, a cherished brother and a beloved
father and husband, passed away at home in Monte Sereno, California on July 15, 2023. Leo
is survived by his seven siblings, daughter Emily M. S. Gu, son Michael M. J. Gu,
granddaughter Rooney Gu-Johnson, and his wife Taiyin Yang, the love of his life.
Leo was born in Shanghai, China on September 26, 1951 to Mr. Bao-Chang Miao, a prominent
businessman in the textile industry, and Wen-Ching Chou, a graceful, dedicated mother from
a family of sports equipment manufacturers. When Leo was 4, the family retreated to Taipei,
Taiwan, where Leo grew up. An astute student, Leo attended Jian-Guo high school and was
admitted to the National Taiwan University in 1970, majoring in chemistry. Leo was a fun,
witty, caring and generous person, and made many life-long friends in high school and college.
In his freshman year, Leo met Taiyin and they were married 8 years later. Higher education
brought Leo to the University of California, Los Angeles and he earned a Ph.D. in physical
organic chemistry under the tutelage of Dr. Christopher S. Foote. After a post-doctoral study
at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA, Leo began his career in the pharmaceutical industry
at Syntex Corporation in Palo Alto, CA. An innovative scientist, Leo contributed to many
inventions, patents and publications in drug development. A notable invention is CellCept®,
a drug that prevents transplant rejection, helping improve lives of the critically ill to this date.
At Syntex for over a decade, Leo not only developed professional prominence, but also
enjoyed lively interactions with colleagues – be it on the soccer field, at scientific conferences
or overseeing production at subsidiary sites. Many colleagues from Syntex turned into close
friends and many even became business partners in drug development many years later. It’s
worth noting that the family of Dave Johnson, who hired Leo into Syntex, remains close to
Leo’s family. After Syntex, Leo had a chance to take on an executive role at IntraBiotics, joined
the efforts of its IPO and brought a lead compound to Phase 3. Later, Leo followed his
entrepreneurial instinct and co-founded pharmaceutical startups, the latest one being Selten
Pharma, where a molecule for PAH (Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension) was advanced and
acquired in 2017. Leo was active in the field for more than 30 years and contributed as a
scientist, a product development expert, and an insightful and caring leader with a passion
for improving lives.
Leo was a devoted family man. He cared about the wellbeing of everyone in the families of
his and Taiyin’s siblings, parents and cousins too – that’s fourteen siblings in all. Leo was the
magnet that brought family together for holidays, birthdays, and many family events, which
Leo hosted or orchestrated tirelessly over the decades. Leo received tremendous love as his
blessing. This is where Leo’s talent for creating foods must be proclaimed. Family and friends
were marveled by the exquisite taste, menu pairing and presentation of his cooking at a
banquet scale year after year. Leo was not cooking; he was creating art with the audience in
mind. Fresh seafood was his specialty. Leo was pleased that both Emily and Michael inherited
his fine palate, imagination and interest in making food an enjoyable part of their daily lives.
Leo showed love for his children by being there, pampering, anticipating the future, showing
discipline and letting go. He gave Emily’s first clipping of her tender nails and was the first to
change Michael’s diaper at home. They often found in their lunch boxes the healthy, yummy
food daddy prepared. The children are his darlings. However, Leo spoiled Rooney with no
limits – Ahh… the privileges of a grandpa. As for Taiyin, 53 years being together says it all.
Between his rapidly growing career and a family life with 2 young children, Leo’s time for
playing soccer diminished, so he picked up mountain biking and continued into his 70’s.
Biking and frolicking with bike friends in the mountains was his savored time. Like a pick-up
game, the bike group grew, and members changed over time, spanning a wide range of age,
background and profession. The bond amongst the bike friends was preserved through time
and space like magic. They called themselves the 730 (騎山林) bike team, complete with
their own uniform jersey and all. Every weekend, members of the team gathered at 7:30 am
at Leo’s doorstep to conquer the trails. There were overnight biking trips on Santa Cruz trails
and a weeklong bike trip on Lake Tahoe trails. Soon, “bike friends” became friends for life.
They organized hiking trips to New Mexico, Santa Fe and the Alps. Summer barbeque parties
in Leo’s backyard were a hit many a time with the 730ers. Leo had a blast on his bike!
Leo had a gift for landscaping, another passion of his. He pursued the beauty in nature,
capturing all details of plants and rocks. He masterfully designed a serene yet splendid garden
in his home. Picture this: From a background of oak and redwood trees, Leo weaved into the
garden numerous green, red and dark red maples. Welcoming hydrangea line the walk path,
flourishing roses of all colors and loud peonies jump out to grab attention unexpectedly,
sturdy flowering dogwood trees stand by unassumingly, fragrant gardenia and noble
camellias hold their own in contrast, majestic purple bougainvillea reaches the balcony above,
while naughty azalea and calming rhododendron are busy minding their own business with
the gentle breeze. Leo quietly curated the garden for all to enjoy.
Leo’s fight for his life was nothing less than heroic and gracious. He faced the dreadful disease
straight on for one year with chemo, surgery and more chemo since the time it resurfaced
seven years after being in remission. Leo was a stoic man and was determined to spend as
much fun time as possible with family and friends despite enduring the unbearable sickness
and stark insult to his body. His mind was as sharp as ever in trying to find a way to health
and see a way forward. The expert care of his oncologist, surgeon, primary physician, nurses
and expert input of clinical study considerations from caring friends, especially Arie
Belldegrun, a giant in the field, allowed Leo the time to survive and hope for a chance to stay
ahead of the disease. Leo’s sister Man-Hwa accompanied him at all the chemo treatments,
helped with the care afterwards and brightened Leo’s heart with stories of growing up
together. Taiyin is indebted to her. When not in treatment, Leo prioritized his time and energy
on fun things that brought family and friends together, and he sincerely appreciated
everyone’s accommodation of his condition. His best friends from college, David and Ring-ling, visited regularly for games and to reminisce about the old days.
Leo gave the family a fun-filled year. Leo was excited that Michael and Joyce Shaw accelerated
their timeline for getting married in October during a short window between his surgery and
resuming chemo. At the wedding, this proud and loving father delivered a joyful speech that
brought down the house. He hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas, and in-law families joined
for extra fun. In January, Leo and Taiyin visited the newlyweds in New York and returned to
Birdland Club for a healthy dose of Jazz. His farewell tour started in February with a trip to
Taipei where he rejoiced with siblings, Taiyin’s mom and high school and college friends, and
frequented the food stands at night markets. There were trips with in-laws to watch the David
Copperfield magic show and Bruno Mars concert in Las Vegas. In March, while in Sedona, Leo
drove an all-terrain vehicle with Emily, but that was not as thrilling as the news that Emily is
expecting; Rooney will soon have a baby brother. During his final week, Leo watched the
premiere opening of the movie Mission: Impossible 7 and took a road trip to Lake Tahoe. It’s
hard to imagine that he was a disease-battered man. Leo fooled us all, that he would actually
leave us on that fateful day of July 15, 2023.
Leo was an intelligent person with multi-faceted interests and talents. Leo approached life
with enthusiasm, playfulness and love for people around him, and he accomplished life by
being prepared, being involved, and exercising plenty of discipline and perseverance till the
end of the day. Leo led a humble life, never desiring finer things for himself but providing
handsomely for others. His laughter and humor will be sorely missed, and his love and impact
will be long felt. Leo left a rich legacy of sparkling moments and shared thoughts that will
comfort the loss in the longing hearts of Emily, Michael and Taiyin.
What’s your fondest memory of Chee-Liang?
What’s a lesson you learned from Chee-Liang?
Share a story where Chee-Liang's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Chee-Liang you’ll never forget.
How did Chee-Liang make you smile?