Date: February 3, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Building 20, Rehearsal Room
📅 [add to calendar]
Reception to follow the lecture.
KAUST is thrilled to welcome Professor Alan Trounson AO, emeritus professor at Monash University, for a lecture on an emerging immune cell-based strategy for treating Alzheimer’s disease. Trounson is currently the executive chair of Evinco Therapeutics Pty Ltd., where he is developing an exosome-based immunotherapeutic approach for neurological conditions.
Drawing on his extensive experience, Trounson will describe novel Alzheimer’s treatment strategies that harness immune cell-derived vesicles to clear amyloid, reduce inflammation, and potentially restore brain function.
Global challenge; immune-based solution
Alzheimer’s disease is now the third-leading cause of death globally, behind cancer and heart disease. There is no cure, and the most commonly used medications are cholinesterase inhibitors, which temporarily ease memory and thinking problems for some patients. The U.S. drug regulator has approved antibody treatments that target toxic Alzheimer’s proteins, but these therapies have shown limited clinical benefit and can cause brain-related side effects.
A novel therapeutic approach based on natural killer (NK) cells — a type of immune cell not traditionally associated with brain disease — offers new hope for aging populations.
Researchers at NKGen observed that an Alzheimer’s patient treated with high-dose autologous NK cells regained speech after two years of being nonverbal. Subsequent studies and Phase II trials showed strong patient responses. Building on these findings, Evinco Tx is focusing on NK cell-derived extracellular vesicles, which may reach the brain, enhance amyloid clearance, reduce inflammation, and be deliverable through noninvasive nasal administration.
About the speaker
An emeritus professor at Monash University, Trounson is a pioneer of human in vitro fertilization, having led the Australian team in the world’s first discovery of human embryonic stem cells in the late 1990s. He also developed artificial breeding techniques in sheep, cattle, pigs, and horses at Australia’s University of Sydney and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
Trounson served as deputy director of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development from 1990 to 2004. From 2003 to 2007, he was chief executive officer of the Australian Stem Cell Centre, and director of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories. He later served as president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine from 2007 to 2014.
From 2015 to 2025, he served as the founding CEO of Cartherics Pty Ltd., leading the development of immune therapies for solid tumors.
Join us for this unforgettable event.
