Nancy Ip Yuk-yu – president of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology – has been awarded the 2026 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences for her pioneering contributions to neuroscience and Alzheimer’s research.

She received the award at a ceremony at the headquarters of the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization in Paris, France, on Friday.

Recognizing Ip as an internationally-renowned neuroscientist whose research has significantly advanced the understanding of brain function and neurodegenerative diseases, the organization highlighted her team’s discoveries of novel biomarkers and genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, the development of an innovative blood-based diagnostic technology that enables earlier detection and monitoring of the disease, and her pioneering advances in gene therapy research that have opened new avenues for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

Ip expressed her heartfelt gratitude to her research team, collaborators and colleagues, and thanked the HKUST for its steadfast support throughout her scientific journey.

“It (the recognition) reflects our shared commitment to advancing knowledge, deepening our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, and translating scientific discoveries into meaningful benefits for patients and society,” said Ip, who’s also a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

She said Alzheimer’s disease isn’t just a scientific and medical challenge, but also a deeply human one, profoundly affecting the lives of those living with the disease and their families. “Their courage reminds us why our work matters and inspires us to reach higher.”

In her acceptance speech, Ip also emphasized the importance of global scientific collaboration and nurturing future generations of researchers.

“Every breakthrough is built on collaboration across disciplines, institutions and borders. As a scientist and university president, I believe we must also empower young researchers by giving them the freedom to pursue their curiosity, the confidence to take intellectual risks, and the support they need to tackle the grand challenges facing humanity,” she said.

Ip has devoted more than three decades to advancing research on neurodegenerative diseases, with her pioneering work significantly deepening scientific understanding of intercellular communication in the nervous system, synaptic signaling, and the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, according to HKUST.

Her research team has also achieved a series of breakthroughs in identifying protein targets associated with these disorders, opening new avenues for their diagnosis and treatment.

Recognizing that Asian populations have been relatively underrepresented as Alzheimer’s disease research has historically relied heavily on data from Western populations, Ip led her team in establishing a large-scale Chinese Alzheimer's disease biobank.

By integrating clinical data, neuroimaging information, and multi-omics datasets from Chinese populations, the team identified multiple genetic risk factors prevalent among Chinese individuals. These findings have provided important scientific insights into disease mechanisms and laid a foundation for the development of precision diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

In significant advances in the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and the clinical translation of related research in recent years, Ip and her team co-developed a highly accurate, minimally invasive, and efficient blood-based diagnostic test that can aid early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and help identify individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

The technology has been adopted by multiple healthcare institutions in Hong Kong and has since been expanded into community settings, helping to inform more effective disease management and risk-reduction strategies

The team is actively exploring novel gene therapy approaches for familial Alzheimer’s disease through gene-editing technologies, with the goal of developing an integrated innovation pipeline spanning early diagnosis to next-generation therapeutics.

Two other laureates of this year’s award are Carlos Martin Montanes of the University of Zaragoza in Spain and Adnane Remmal of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, Morocco. They were honored for their contributions to the development of a live attenuated vaccine against tuberculosis and the fight against antimicrobial resistance, respectively.