On November 6, 2019, Professor Colin L. Masters from the University of Melbourne, Australia, visited the Institute of Biophysics by the invitation of Prof. Li Zhu from the State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science and gave a wonderful Bei Shizhang Lecture. The title of the talk is "The Molecular Origins of Alzheimer’s Disease: When Does It Start and What Strategies for Primary Prevention?"

Prof. Colin Masters is a Fellow of Australian Academy of Science and is currently Laureate Professor of Dementia research at The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne. He has dedicated his research to the study of the nature and pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases for about 50 years. Prof. Masters and his colleagues were the first to characterize the amyloid beta that forms the plaques in the brain of AD patients, and were devoted himself to preclinical diagnosis and prevention of AD. During his presentation, Prof. Masters briefly introduced the types and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Then he focused on the metabolism of APP, accumulation and clearance of Aβ. The advent of validated biomarkers PET/CSF Aβ has made it possible for preclinical diagnosis of AD. However, there is still a long way to go in clinical trials to monitor the drug efficacy. At the end of presentation, Prof. Masters introduced to us the future strategies for Alzheimer's disease, such as developing rational combination therapeutics including lower Aβ production, stabilize and neutralize proteins and promote their clearance; or continue to improve the efficiency of Aβ biomarkers, enabling them to quantify and prevent disease as earlier as possible.

Prof. Masters addressed the world-wide hotspot issue of Alzheimer's disease, which interested and benefited the audience. After his presentation, teachers and students from Institute of Biophysics，Institute of Zoology and Institute of Psychology asked questions and discussed actively. Prof. Masters answered these questions clearly with patience. The presentation ended with warm applause. Prof. Li Zhu presented a special souvenir with IBP symbol to Prof. Masters. 

Prof. Colin L. Masters was giving the lecture

The Audience

Prof. Li Zhu and Prof. Colin L. Masters