APBEC Young Scholars

APBEC Symposium and Young Scholars Award Ceremony

The Asia Pacific Biomedical Engineering Consortium (APBEC) proudly presents the APBEC Young Scholar Award, a prestigious honour established to recognize outstanding early-career researchers in the field of biomedical engineering. Launched in early 2024, APBEC is a collaborative initiative among leading universities across the Asia-Pacific region, dedicated to fostering interaction, collaboration, and advancement in biomedical engineering. Recipients of the APBEC Young Scholar Award will gain global recognition and support, joining a prestigious network of talented researchers. They will be invited to the award presentation ceremony and have the opportunity to present their work at the APBEC Symposium, with the registration fee waived. This award opens doors to valuable networking opportunities, cross-cultural collaborations, and access to critical resources, fostering professional growth and innovation.

Award Purpose

The APBEC Young Scholars Award aims to honour and support exceptional researchers who have made significant contributions to biomedical engineering. The award targets promising individuals who demonstrate the potential for further growth and impact in the field.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates must come from the selected Universities/Research Institutions of the representing region/city listed below.
Candidates must be below 40 years old.
Candidates should hold a full-time academic position, including postdoctoral and research track roles, at their respective institutions.
Candidates must have obtained their PhD no more than 10 years ago.
The award is dedicated to individuals working within various specializations of biomedical engineering.

Selected Universities/Research Institutes for 2025

Hong Kong

Selected University	Local Selection Committee
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) The University of Hong Kong (HKU) The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) City University of Hong Kong (CityU)	Prof. Henry Lam, HKUST (Chair) Prof. Jonathan Choi, CUHK Prof. Kevin Tsia, HKU

Beijing

Selected University	Local Selection Committee
Tsinghua University (THU) Southeast University (SEU) Beihang University (BUAA)	Prof. Yanan Du, THU (Chair) Prof. Jing Tu, SEU Prof. Lizhen Wang, BUAA

Taiwan

Selected University	Local Selection Committee
National Taiwan University (NTU) National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) National Health Research Institute (NHRI)	Prof. P. Grace Chao, NTU (Chair) Prof. Lun-De Liao, NHRI Prof. Ming-Long Yeh, NCKU Prof. I-Chi Lee, NTHU

Japan

Selected University	Local Selection Committee
University of Tokyo (UTokyo)	Prof. Madoka Takai, UTokyo (Chair) Prof. Kanako Harada, UTokyo Prof. Hirohide Saito, UTokyo Prof. Yukiko Matsunaga, UTokyo

Singapore

Selected University	Local Selection Committee
National University of Singapore (NUS) Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)	Prof. Lim Chwee Teck, NUS (Chair) Prof. James Goh, NUS Prof. Hou Hanwei, NTU

Korea

Selected University	Local Selection Committee
Seoul National University (SNU) Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST)	Prof. Jinwook Choi, SNU (Chair) Prof. Dae-hyeong Kim, SNU Prof. Yoonkey Nam, KAIST

Nomination

Nomination period: Open nominations are invited annually.
Nominator: Any department or faculty member. Self-nomination is not accepted.
Required Information:

Nomination Letter: A nomination letter summarizing the nominee's research contributions and community service. The letter should be no more than two pages.
Nominee’s CV: Include either the nominee’s CV or a link to their comprehensive professional website.

Submission: All nomination materials should be submitted via the APBEC website.

Online Submission

Selection Process

Local Selection Committee: Comprised of a local chair and two or more eminent scholars of the region, reviewing nominations and recommending up to three scholars from each region to the APBEC Selection Committee.

APBEC Selection Committee: Comprised of the APBEC President and two eminent scholars outside the APBEC partnership regions, selecting APBEC Young Scholar awardees based on local selection committee recommendations, not limited to one awardee per region.

Prof. I-Ming HSING (Chair)	Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Prof. George MALLIARAS	Department of Engineering	University of Cambridge
Prof. Helen LU	Department of Biomedical Engineering	Columbia University

APBEC Young Scholars Award 2025 Key Dates

Nomination Deadline: March 7, 2025
Local Selection Committee Recommendation Deadline: By March 31, 2025
Announcement of Results: By April 30, 2025
Award Presentation: August 10-11, 2025 during the APBEC 2025 Symposium at Tsinghua University

By awarding these outstanding individuals, APBEC aims to inspire excellence, innovation, and leadership in biomedical engineering, driving advancements that positively impact public health and well-being. Join us in honouring the next generation of leaders in this vital field.

2024-2025 Awardees

Dr. Kevin Tze-Hsiang CHEN

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.

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Dr. Xiaochuan DAI

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.

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Dr. Amy Kyungwon HAN

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.

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Dr. Ryo MATSUNAGA

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.

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Dr. Hnin Y. Y. NYEIN

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.

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Dr. Changsheng WU

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.

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