Targeting synaptic dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases

Prof. Nancy Ip (Dean of Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China) discusses the importance of disrupted communication between brain cells in the onset of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.  She argues in favour of a combination therapy as a novel interventional approach to tackle the disease.

About speaker:
Prof. Nancy Ip is currently the Dean of Science, The Morningside Professor of Life Science, and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She received her PhD degree in Pharmacology from Harvard Medical School, after which she held the position of Senior Staff Scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in New York. Since joining HKUST, she has served as Associate Dean of Science, Director of the Biotechnology Research Institute, and Head of the Department of Biochemistry.

Nancy Ip's major research interests are in neural development and function as well as drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. She is well-known for her seminal discoveries in the biology of neurotrophic factors, which are proteins that promote the survival, development, and maintenance of neurons in the nervous system. She has also made important contributions towards understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying brain development and synaptic plasticity, and their dysregulation in neurological disorders. Using this knowledge, her research team aims to elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, and identify drug leads for these brain disorders from Chinese medicine. Furthermore, she plays a significant role in the development of biotechnology in Hong Kong, and has launched prominent collaborations with major biopharmaceutical companies, thus placing HKUST on the map for cutting-edge R&D in molecular neuroscience.

As a highly accomplished researcher, Nancy Ip has published over 240 scientific papers with more than 16,400 SCI citations, and holds 23 patents. She is an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, and has received numerous awards and honors including the National Natural Science Awards (China's highest honor in the natural sciences), the L'OREAL-UNESCO for Women in Science Award (making her the first honoree in the life sciences from China), and the "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite" (National Order of Merit) by the French Government. She is also the senior editor of the Journal of Neuroscience, and an elected Councillor for two leading global organizations in the fields of neuroscience and pharmacology: the Society for Neuroscience and the CINP (Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum). Furthermore, she is a member of the Global Agenda Council on Brain Research of the World Economic Forum.