APBEC Young Scholars
APBEC Young Scholar Award is a prestigious recognition presented by the Asia Pacific Biomedical Engineering Consortium (APBEC). Established in early 2024, APBEC is a collaborative initiative among esteemed universities in the region, dedicated to fostering interaction, collaboration, and advancement in the field of biomedical engineering.
The APBEC Young Scholar Award is designed to honour and support exceptional early-career researchers of the member universities who have made significant contributions to the field of biomedical engineering. This award is specifically targeted towards individuals who meet the following criteria:
- Candidates must be below the age of 40, ensuring that the award supports the next generation of biomedical engineering leaders.
- Eligible candidates must hold a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor position with a major appointment in their respective universities. This requirement ensures that the award recognizes individuals who have already demonstrated their commitment to academia and research.
- Candidates must have graduated with a PhD no more than 10 years, highlighting the focus on recognizing emerging talent and the potential for further growth and impact.
- The award is dedicated to individuals working in the area of biomedical engineering, encompassing a wide range of specializations within the discipline.
Every year, member universities are invited to submit nominations for the APBEC Young Scholar Award, and the final decision is made by the APBEC Executive Committee.
As an APBEC Young Scholar, recipients will have the opportunity to showcase their research and expertise on a global platform. The recognition and support provided by APBEC Young Scholar Award opens doors for these accomplished individuals. They become part of a prestigious network of talented researchers, gaining exposure to a diverse international research community. This exposure facilitates networking opportunities, cross-cultural collaborations, and access to valuable resources, ultimately contributing to their professional growth and advancement.
By honoring and supporting these outstanding individuals, APBEC aims to promote excellence, innovation, and leadership in the field of biomedical engineering. The achievements of APBEC Young Scholars inspire and drive advancements that positively impact public health and well-being.
2024-2025 Awardees
With great pleasure, we would like to congratulate the following awardees for being selected as the founding batch of APBEC Young Scholars. This named scholarship reflects their academic credential and potential for being a future leader in biomedical engineering. As the founding batch of APBEC Young Scholars, the awardees will be invited to speak at the APBEC Young Scholars Forum to be held on Dec. 9-12, 2024 in Singapore, as part of the 18th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering (ICBME 2024).
We congratulate the deserving recipients of the APBEC Young Scholar Award and look forward to their continued contributions and leadership in shaping the future of biomedical engineering.
National Taiwan University
Dr. Kevin Tze-Hsiang CHEN received his bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University in 2010, majoring in electrical engineering. He subsequently enrolled in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology and received his Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics from MIT in 2017. In September 2017, Dr. Chen joined the Radiological Sciences Laboratory at Stanford University as a postdoctoral researcher and since August 2021 has been an assistant professor and Fubon Bacui Scholar at National Taiwan University. His current research focuses on the development and integration of artificial intelligence and multimodal medical image processing techniques for the improved quantification of positron emission tomography images. He was a recipient of the Cornelius G. Dyke Memorial Award from the American Society of Neuroradiology.
Tsinghua University
Dr. Dai is an Assistant Professor at the School of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University. He earned his B.Sc. Degree from Peking University, followed by a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Dr. Dai further pursued postdoctoral research at Harvard, Tufts and MIT. His research focuses on the seamless integration of nanoelectronics and living tissues, particularly on cyborg tissues, biostealthy neural electrodes, and brain-machine interfaces. Dr. Dai has authored over 20 articles in journals such as Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Materials, and PNAS, and he received over 10 grants in the past two years. Dr. Dai has received honors such as the Beijing Nova Program, Quisuo Program for Distinguished Young Scholars.
Seoul National University
Dr. Amy Kyungwon HAN is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Seoul National University in Seoul, Korea. She was a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University and received a B.S. degree from Georgia Tech and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University. Her research includes soft actuators, sensors, medical robotics, haptics, and biomimetics. Prof. Han's awards include the 2022 Best RA-L Paper Award, the 2022 ICROS Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award, and the ICRA 2021 Best Poster Presentation. She was also recognized as one of the 50 Women in Robotics in 2023 and a Rising Star in Mechanical Engineering in 2019.
The University of Tokyo
Dr. Ryo Matsunaga, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. His expertise lies in protein engineering, where he designs and optimizes proteins by integrating high-throughput experiments with computational approaches. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 2015 and worked as a researcher at Toray Industries, Inc. from 2015 to 2020 before joining his current position at the University of Tokyo in 2020. In this research, the aim is to advance protein design through innovative techniques that combine cutting-edge experimental methods with advanced computational science. The goal is to contribute to the development of new technologies and applications in the field of bioengineering.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Dr. Hnin Y. Y. NYEIN has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the HKUST since 2022. Prior to joining HKUST, she received her PhD from UC Berkeley in 2020 and did postdoc training at Stanford. As a leading author, she has published several pioneer works on wearable sensing technology in major journals including Nature, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Advanced Materials, and ACS Sensors. She was recognized as an innovator in TR35 Asia Pacific 2021 awarded by MIT Technology Review.
National University of Singapore
Dr. Changsheng WU is a Presidential Young Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also an assistant professor by courtesy in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a PI in the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology and the N.1 Institute for Health, NUS. He received his PhD in MSE from Georgia Tech and carried out postdoctoral research in the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University. His research focuses on developing wireless wearables and intelligent robots for energy harvesting, biosensing and therapeutic applications, leveraging bioelectronics, materials science, and advanced manufacturing to create solutions for sustainable living and environment.
