HKUST Blood Biomarker Test for Alzheimer’s Disease Selected among Three Finalists for AUTM 2026 Better World Project Award

AUTM has selected “A Simple Blood Test from HKUST is Transforming the Alzheimer’s Disease Ecosystem” as one of three finalists from 108 stories for the AUTM 2026 Better World Project Award—a recognition of research translated into real-world benefit through technology transfer and commercialization.

The research project is led by Prof. Nancy Ip, President and the Morningside Professor of Life Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Center Director of the InnoHK Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (InnoHK HKCeND). Building on a large-scale plasma proteomics study of Alzheimer’s disease, the team identified blood protein biomarkers associated with the disease and developed multi-protein blood biomarker assays, enabling early detection and disease staging from a simple blood draw. The technology has been licensed to Cognitact Limited, a spin-off company of HKUST and InnoHK HKCeND, for development and commercialization. Related blood test services have been adopted by multiple hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong and Macau, assisting diagnosis and treatment.

AUTM also recently featured Dr. Jason JIANG Yuanbing, an innovator and inventor behind the technology, on its weekly podcast AUTM on the Air, where he shares the R&D journey behind the multi-protein blood biomarker assays for Alzheimer’s disease.

Please click here to listen to the episode.