Professor Ralph Martins, foundation chair in aging and Alzheimer’s disease at Edith Cowan University, graduated from University of Western Australia with a PhD in 1986. In 1987, he won a scholarship to Heidelberg University to work with Konrad Beyreuther. His collaborative seminal research involved isolating and characterising beta-amyloid and its precursor, the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which are now recognised as central to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. He was the first to propose and demonstrate that the Alzheimer brain was under oxidative stress, which is now widely recognised by the Alzheimer research community. In 1989, he joined Professor Masters at Melbourne University where he was the first to isolate and characterise the molecular components of the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. This led to an international patent and formation of a spin-off company, Alzhyme Pty Ltd. In 2001, he won a Media Fellowship with the ABC and was the first Media Fellow to have his work on the Science Show. In 2002, Prof Martins won a Biotechnology Innovation Fund grant, which was matched by commercial funding. He established the Sir James McCusker Alzheimer’s Research Unit at Hollywood Hospital, whose research is directed at the cause(s), development of diagnostics and treatments. He received the UWA "Excellence in Teaching Award - Post Graduate Research" for 2002 and in 2003 was appointed senior editor for the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and editorial board member for Current Drug Targets CNS & Neurological Disease.
