2010 ASBMB Award: Lin Wai Hung

Department of Pathology University of Melbourne

Lin Wai Hung completed his Bachelor of Biomedical Science degree in 2005 and undertook an Honours project under the supervision of Associate Professor Kevin Barnham at the Department of Pathology at the University of Melbourne. During the course of his Honours work, he was able to elucidate and characterise the importance of certain oligomeric forms of the Aβ peptide, the causative peptide involved in Alzheimer’s disease. Staying on in the field of neurodegeneration, Lin went on to do his PhD in the same lab, but diverted his attention to in vivo mouse models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. His initial work centred on looking at the therapeutic effects of a copper delivery compound, Cu^II(gtsm), in murine models of Alzheimer’s disease. Excitingly, this particular compound restored cognition and memory in the demented mouse via the activation of certain biochemical pathways, in particular, the PI3K-AKT-GSK3b pathway. Lin’s current work focusses on investigating the effects of a related compound, Cu^II (atsm), in numerous models of Parkinson’s disease. To date, this compound has been very successful in reversing the motor, as well as cognitive, deficits in murine models. Overall, the significance of Lin’s research is highlighted by four publications in journals such as PNAS and Journal of Neuroscience, a book chapter, travel awards, a poster prize and a best speaker award. Lin also has a strong teaching commitment and has been involved in the tutoring of medical students for the past three years. Upon completion of his PhD, Lin hopes to take up a postdoctoral fellowship in the United States.

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This page last modified: April 1, 2010.