Nancy Ip

Nancy Chu Ip Yuk-yu (; also spelled as Nancy Y. Ip in academic publications) is a Hong Kong neuroscientist. She is serving as the 5th President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) since 19 October 2022. She had served as the Vice-President of Research and Development, the Morningside Professor of Life Science, and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience at the HKUST. Since December 2022, Ip has also served as the deputy from the Hong Kong delegation to the National People's Congress.

Biography Nancy Ip was born in Hong Kong, with her ancestral home in Taishan, Guangdong. She is the youngest of six children.

She received her bachelor degree in Chemistry and Biology from Simmons College in 1977, and she earned a doctorate in pharmacology from Harvard University Medical School in 1983.

Since joining The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 1993, Ip served as Dean of Science, the Director of the Biotechnology Research Institute, and the Head of the Department of Biochemistry. She is currently the Vice-President for Research and Development, the Morningside Professor of Life Science, and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience at the University.

She has been elected to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2001), the World Academy of Sciences (2004), the US National Academy of Sciences (2015), the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences (2015), the American of Arts and Sciences (2016), and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019).

In 2004, she received the L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science Award at the 6th Annual L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards for her discoveries on the molecular control of growth, differentiation and synapse formation in the nervous system.

Research

Ip has made several discoveries in neuroscience. She works with the biology of neurotrophic factors, specifically proteins that support the growth, survival, and differentiation of both developing and mature neurons. Her recent research to understand the deregulation of signaling pathways mediated by different classes of cell surface receptors has led to critical insights on the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, and unveiled new molecular targets and potential therapeutic strategies.

Award 1998 - Croucher Foundation Senior Research Fellowship 2001 - Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 2003 & 2011 - State Natural Science Award, State Council of the People's Republic of China 2004 - Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences 2004 - L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science 2008 - Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress of Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation 2008 - Medal of Honor, Hong Kong SAR Government 2011 - Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merite, France 2014 - Justice of Peace, Hong Kong SAR Government 2015 - Founding Member, The Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong 2016 - Foreign Associate, US National Academy of Sciences 2016 - Foreign Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2016 - 10 Science Stars of China by Nature 2016 - Asian Scientist 100, Asian Scientist 2017 - Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS), Hong Kong SAR Government 2019 - Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences