Dr. Pingfu Feng

Dr. Feng was born in Henan, China on June 22, 1953. He obtained his MD from Henan Medical University in 1976 and trained as a resident physician at Anyang Hospital from 1976 to 1978. While in Anyang, a friend introduced him to Xiaoping Yang. Their relationship quickly blossomed into marriage in 1981, followed by the birth of their first son, Yu Feng, in 1983. Dr. Feng then graduated from Henan Medical University in 1985 with an MS in neuroscience, soon followed by a PhD in neurophysiology from Hunan Medical College in 1988.

In 1989, Dr. Feng immigrated to the United States to further pursue his goals in the field of neuroscience research by completing his post-doctoral training at the Southwestern Medical School at Dallas and the University of Chicago. During this time, his second son, James Feng, was born in 1994. This time of immense transition and hardship proved to be a blessing for Dr. Feng and his family. Soon after, he accepted a position at the Emory University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor. Work aside, Dr. Feng loved traveling and experiencing new things with his family and friends. After moving to the US, he often took his family on vacations around the country to visit renowned destinations such as Yellowstone National Park, San Francisco, and New York City. Above all else, he loved going to the beach and swimming in the ocean. Living in Atlanta was his paradise as could visit the best beaches on the east coast whenever he wished.

In 2003, Dr. Feng started his own research laboratory at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. During his time as the Principal Investigator of the Feng Lab, he won the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression’s Young Investigator Award, published over 50 peer-reviewed research papers, and served as a grant reviewer on multiple occasions in the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. Despite retiring from laboratory research in 2019, he never stopped his pursuit of discovery. He proceeded to create his own research and development company in the pursuit of sleep apnea medication.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Xiaoping Yang, his sons, Yu and James, her daughter-in-law, Yan Yuan, and his grandchildren, Alexandria and Max.