香港科技大学校长叶玉如获教科文组织生命科学研究大奖：成首位集齐两项教科文组织殊荣的香港科学家
香港科技大学校长、生命科学晨兴讲座教授叶玉如（Nancy Ip）获颁2026年联合国教科文组织—赤道几内亚生命科学研究国际奖，表彰她在神经科学和阿尔茨海默病研究方面的开创性贡献。颁奖典礼11月6日在法国巴黎的教科文组织总部举行，香港科技大学11月7日公布消息。
教科文组织在公布奖项时表示，叶玉如是国际知名的神经科学家，其研究显著推进了对大脑功能和神经退行性疾病的认识：她的团队发现了阿尔茨海默病的新型生物标志物和遗传风险因素，开发出可更早检测和监测病情的血液诊断技术，并在基因治疗研究上取得开创性进展。
叶玉如2004年曾获欧莱雅—联合国教科文组织世界杰出女科学家成就奖，是首位获此荣誉的中国生命科学家、也是首位来自香港的得主。此次获奖使她再添一项教科文组织大奖，成为首位集齐这两项教科文组织殊荣的香港科学家。她在巴黎领奖时说：“这份荣誉不仅属于我，也属于为这些成果作出贡献的众多才华横溢、全心投入的团队成员、合作者和同事。”她还说，阿尔茨海默病不只是科学与医学的挑战，也深深影响患者和家庭的生活。
叶玉如从事神经退行性疾病研究三十多年，发表学术论文350多篇，持有144项专利。她带领团队建立了大规模的中国阿尔茨海默病生物样本库，整合中国人群的临床、神经影像与多组学数据，识别出多个在中国人群中常见的遗传风险因素；团队还共同开发了准确度高、微创高效的血液检测技术，可辅助阿尔茨海默病早期检测和轻度认知障碍识别，已在香港多家医疗机构采用并推广至社区。
叶玉如现任香港科技大学校长，同时担任神经系统疾病全国重点实验室主任和香港神经退行性疾病中心主任，2022年出任校长。她是中国科学院院士、美国国家科学院外籍院士、美国艺术与科学院外籍荣誉院士，并两度获得国家自然科学奖。
教科文组织—赤道几内亚生命科学研究国际奖由教科文组织设立，表彰增进人类健康、改善生活质量的杰出科学成就。今年的奖项由三位获奖者共同获得，分享30万美元奖金和一尊由赤道几内亚艺术家 Leandro Mbomio Nsue 创作的雕像。
（来源：香港科技大学）
HKUST President Nancy Ip Wins UNESCO Life Sciences Prize, First Hong Kong Scientist to Hold Both UNESCO Honors
Nancy Ip, President and Morningside Professor of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), has been awarded the 2026 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences, in recognition of her pioneering contributions to neuroscience and Alzheimer's disease research. The award ceremony was held on November 6 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and HKUST announced the honor on November 7.
In announcing the award, UNESCO recognized Ip as an internationally renowned neuroscientist whose research has significantly advanced the understanding of brain function and neurodegenerative diseases. It 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.
Ip first received the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award in 2004, becoming the first Chinese scientist in the life sciences and the first scientist from Hong Kong to receive that honor. The new prize makes her the first Hong Kong scientist to have received both prestigious UNESCO awards. Receiving the award in Paris, Ip said the recognition “belongs not only to me, but also to the many talented and dedicated team members, collaborators and colleagues who have contributed to these achievements,” adding that Alzheimer's disease is “not just a scientific and medical challenge” but “a deeply human one” affecting patients and their families.
Ip has devoted more than three decades to neurodegenerative disease research, publishing over 350 scholarly papers and holding 144 patents. Recognizing that Alzheimer's research has historically relied heavily on data from Western populations, her team established a large-scale Chinese Alzheimer's disease biobank integrating clinical data, neuroimaging and multi-omics datasets, and identified multiple genetic risk factors prevalent among Chinese individuals. The team also co-developed a highly accurate, minimally invasive blood-based diagnostic test that aids early detection and identification of mild cognitive impairment; the technology has been adopted by multiple healthcare institutions in Hong Kong and expanded into community settings.
Ip is President of HKUST and concurrently serves as Director of the State Key Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders and Director of the Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, assuming the presidency in 2022. She is an elected member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences and a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has twice received China's State Natural Science Award.
The UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences was established by UNESCO to recognize outstanding scientific achievements that advance human health and improve quality of life. This year's prize is shared by three laureates, who jointly receive US$300,000 and an Integración Tribal statuette created by Equatorial Guinean artist Leandro Mbomio Nsue.
(Source: HKUST)
来源：香港科技大学
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：叶玉如在巴黎领取2026年联合国教科文组织—赤道几内亚生命科学研究国际奖。香港科技大学官方照片。
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