Yoo, Sun recognized for developing novel method to study aged neurons
Morby Prize from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund honors groundbreaking Alzheimer’s research
WashU MedicineAndrew S. Yoo, PhD, (left) and Zhao Sun, PhD, received the Jeffrey L. Morby Prize from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund in recognition of their groundbreaking 2024 paper that describes a novel method to study aged neurons in the lab without a brain biopsy.
Andrew S. Yoo, PhD, the Phil and Sima Needleman Distinguished Professor of Developmental Biology, and Zhao Sun, PhD, a staff scientist in Yoo’s laboratory, both of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, were awarded the second annual Jeffrey L. Morby Prize from Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, a nonprofit that supports research to prevent, slow or reverse Alzheimer’s disease. The prize honors the senior and first authors of a recent publication that transforms the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and opens new paths for its prevention, diagnosis or treatment.
Yoo and Sun as well as their co-authors were recognized for their groundbreaking 2024 paper, published in Science, describing a novel method to study aged neurons in the lab without a brain biopsy. They transformed skin cells from patients with late-onset Alzheimer’s into neurons that accurately reproduced hallmarks of the disease, including amyloid beta buildup, tau protein deposits and neuronal cell death. The new method may contribute to a better understanding of the disease and new treatment strategies.
In its inaugural year, the Morby Prize also was presented to WashU Medicine researchers, including David M. Holtzman, MD, the Barbara Burton and Reuben M. Morriss III Distinguished Professor of Neurology, and Xiaoying Chen, PhD, an instructor in neurology.
