Prof. Ip is an internationally renowned leader in neuroscience and drug discovery for neurodegenerative 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 monumental contributions towards understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie brain development and memory formation, and their dysregulation in neurological disorders.

As an academic, Prof. Nancy Ip is the complete package: devoted Dean, inspirational teacher and world-renowned neuroscientist. She undertakes all of these roles with passion and grace, driven by her strong desire to make a positive impact. As Dean of Science and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, she eagerly embraces a punishing schedule, rising at the crack of dawn to meet with her students and working late into the evening. Her scientific discoveries in the study of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases have brought fame to herself and the University, resulting in an ever-growing list of awards. These include winning the National Natural Science Award twice, and the prestigious L'OREAL-UNESCO for Women in Science Award in 2004, making her the first awardee in the Life Sciences from China. In 2001 she was elected Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China's highest academic honor. But the impact of Prof. Ip's work goes well beyond the awards and achievements. She has breathed life into the formerly barren research culture in Hong Kong. She took the lead to set up a state-of-the-art drug discovery technology platform. Further, to provide hope for an aging population afflicted with age-related neurodegenerative diseases, she has introduced the world to the promise of Chinese herbal medicine. In 2011, Prof. Ip received the Honors for Women Innovators at the APEC Women and Economy Summit, and in the same year, France, where the Nobel Laureate Madame Curie forged her epoch-making career in science, bestowed on her the Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite. Could we be seeing China's smiling Madame Curie in the making?