APBEC Young Scholars

 

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 Universities/Research Institutions within the Asia Pacific Region. 
  • Candidates must be below 43 years old.
  • Candidates should hold a full-time academic position at their respective institutions.
  • Candidates must have obtained their PhD no more than 15 years ago and have been an independent PI for at least 3 years.
  • The award is dedicated to individuals working within various specializations of biomedical engineering.

 

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 Nominate Now!

 

Selection Process

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

Hong Kong
Prof. Henry LAM
(Chair)		 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Prof. Xinge YU Department of Biomedical Engineering City University of Hong Kong
Prof. Jonathan CHOI Department of Biomedical Engineering The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Prof. Kevin TSAI School of Biomedical Engineering The University of Hong Kong
Singapore
Prof James GOH
(Chair)		 Department of Biomedical Engineering National University of Singapore
Prof Hou HANWEI Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine Nanyang Technological University
Prof Leo Hwa LIANG Department of Biomedical Engineering National University of Singapore
Beijing
Prof. Guangzhi WANG
(Chair)		 School of Biomedical Engineering Tsinghua University
Prof. Hongen LIAO School of Biomedical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Prof. Jing TU School of Biomedical Science & Medical Engineering Southeast University
Japan
Prof. Yukiko MATSUNAGA
(Chair)		 Institute of Industrial Science The University of Tokyo
Prof. Masateru TANIGUCHI Department of Bio-Nanotechnology The University of Osaka
Prof. Kensuke OSADA Department of Bioengineering The University of Tokyo
Korea
Prof. Hee Chan KIM
(Chair)		 College of Medicine Seoul National University
Prof. Yoonkey NAM Department of Bio and Brain Engineering Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology
Prof. Jung Chan LEE College of Medicine Seoul National University
Taiwan
Prof. Grace CHAO
(Chair)		 Department of Biomedical Engineering National Taiwan University
Prof. Jiashing YU Department of Chemical Engineering National Taiwan University
Prof. I-Chi LEE Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences National Tsing Hua University
Prof. Ming-Long YEH Department of Biomedical Engineering National Cheng Kung University

APBEC Final Selection Committee: Comprised of the APBEC President and Vice-Presidents, shall review the nominations outside the regions of the partnership universities as well as the recommendations provided by the Local Selection Committees. The committee will then select the final APBEC Young Scholar awardees.

 

Prof. I-Ming Hsing
Prof. I-Ming HSING

President
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
 

Prof. Chwee Teck Lim
Prof. Chwee Teck LIM

1st Vice-President
Department of Biomedical Engineering
National University of Singapore

Prof. Madoka Takai
Prof. Madoka TAKAI

2nd Vice-President
Department of Bioengineering
University of Tokyo

APBEC Young Scholars Award 2026 Key Dates

Nomination Deadline: 15 May, 2026
Announcement of Results: August 20-21, 2026 during the APBEC 2026 Symposium, Korea
Award Presentation: December 2026 during the iCBME2026, Singapore

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 2025-2026 Awardees

Kevin Tze-Hsiang Chen
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.  

More about Kevin Tze-Hsiang CHEN

Xiaochuan Dai
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. 

More about Xiaochuan DAI

Amy Kyungwon Han
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.

More about Amy Kyungwon HAN

Ryo matsunaga
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.

More about Ryo MATSUNAGA

Yileen Nyein
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.

More about Hnin Y. Y. NYEIN

Changsheng Wu
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.

More about Changsheng WU