Professor Nancy Ip received her Ph.D. 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 Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Director of the Biotechnology Research Institute. In 2022, she was named President.

Professor Ip is a world-renowned neuroscientist. Her major research interests are in neural development and function as well as drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. 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 including Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, she has played a significant role in the development of biotechnology in Hong Kong, and has launched prominent collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies, thus placing HKUST on the map for cutting-edge R&D in molecular neuroscience.

As a highly accomplished researcher, Professor Ip has published over 260 scientific papers with 18,500 SCI citations, and holds 41 patents. She was elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the US National Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences, and most recently, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor Ip is also a founding member of The Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong. She has received numerous awards and honors including the National Natural Science Awards, the L’OREAL-UNESCO for Women in Science Award, and the “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” 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.