To encourage and support young scientists in Asia to carry out creative and transformative research.

  • 2026 Application Materials Submission Period Closed

    The 2026 AYSF application materials submission period has officially concluded on May 10, 2026 (UTC+8), and the selection process has now entered the review phase.

    All completed full applications will undergo a careful and rigorous review by the AYSF Selection Committee.

    The 2026 selection results are expected to be announced in August 2026.

    We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest in AYSF.

    AYSF Selection Process

  • One-Week Extension of AYSF 2026 Selection Round - Nomination Period

    AYSF 2026 nomination period is now extended one week to 27 March 2026 (UTC+8).

    The extension & final call letters have been sent to all nominators. We warmly welcome all nominators’ close attention and submit your nominations before the deadline.

    For nominees, we will notify them to prepare the required application materials as soon as possible.

    Learn More About Selection Process

  • 📢 Launch of AYSF 2026 Selection Round - Nomination Period

    AYSF is pleased to announce the nomination for the 2026 Selection Round is officially launched!

    The 2026 nomination period runs from 28 January 2026 to 20 March 2026 (UTC+8). The nomination invitation letters have been sent to all nominators in pool. We warmly welcome all nominators‘ close attention and submit your nominations.

    For nominees, we will notify them to prepare the required application materials as soon as possible.

    For more information of the AYSF Selection Process, please click on the button below.

    AYSF Selection Process

AYS Fellows

Through the rigorous review process, from 2022 to 2025, we successfully selected 36 AYS Fellows from the program covering countries. They represent the most creative minds and their achievements and potential place them among the next generation of scientific leaders in Asia.

Learn more about AYS Fellows

Support creative and transformative research

Selection Process

Nomination + Material Submission

After being nominated, the nominee is required to submit a full application material (including a CV, a Research Statement, and three recommendation letters) for a review process by the Selection Committee.

    • Candidates must have a full-time position in an academic and research institution in Asia.

    • Candidates must be able to conduct independent scientific research as a principal investigator.

    • Candidates must be within 10 years post completion of the terminal（Ph.D./MD）degree. In 2026 Selection Round - Candidates must obtain their terminal degree from January 1st, 2016.

  • The Fellowship supports early-career scientists in the three fields, covering the basic, applied and cross-disciplinary research:

    • Life Science

    • Physical Science

    • Mathematics and Computer science

  • We currently cover the following countries in Asia:

    • China (mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan)

    • India

    • Japan

    • Korea

    • Singapore

  • An invitation is sent to a pool of nominators in Asia to nominate early-career scientists as candidates for the Fellowship.

  • Candidates are required to submit a full application material to be reviewed by the Selection Committees.

    Application material including a CV, a research statement, and 3 letters of recommendation.

  • The Application submitted by the candidate will be carefully evaluated by the Selection Committee.

  • The Fellowship recipients will be announced by the end of August, 2026.

Learn more about selection process

Seed funding supports young scientists at the forefront of Asian research, investing in the future of science.

To date

🌟 42 leading scientists worldwide contribute to AYSF’s academic leadership and long-term development.

🌟 36 young scientists in Asia have been supported by AYSF over the past three years.

🌟 22 leading research institutions across 5 countries and 9 Asian regions come under AYSF’s support.

🌟 1,300+ nominators across 100 leading Asian institutions engage with AYSF’s outreach.

Benefits for supported young scientists.

  • Each AYS Fellow receives a $100,000 USD unrestricted-use funding award over a two-year term.  The grant is disbursed to the fellow’s home institution to support his/her research.

  • Fellows will be able to access a community of frontier-thinking young scientists around Asia and our global network of scientists, fostering collaborations and friendships.

  • Fellowship conferences and discussions will be held annually to promote interdisciplinary dialogues and stimulate innovation.

A growing international platform for scientific exchange, bringing together leading talent and institutions from Asia and beyond.

AYSF has organized nearly 20 distinctive in-person and online events, successfully building a growing international platform for scientific exchange.

This platform brings together leading talent and institutions from Asia and beyond, fostering cross-disciplinary academia–industry collaboration, establishing valuable mentor–mentee relationships between young scientists and senior scholars, and enhancing the research vitality and impact of the AYSF community.

To date

  • 20+ science exchange events have been held

  • 100+ young scientists engaged in cross-disciplinary exchange and collaboration

  • 10+ visits to leading research institutions, universities,and corporations.

Learn more about AYSF Events

AYSF Annual Conference (2023-2025)

AYSF Scientific Exchange

Established by Scientists, for Scientists.

The AYSF Committee currently consists of 37 distinguished scientists who are actively engaged at the forefront of international academia. The members play an integral role in integrating academic leadership, professional review, and strategic vision, participating in and guiding the academic direction, review system, and long-term development of AYSF.

  • Indranil Biswas

    Indranil BISWAS

    Shiv Nadar University

  • K.-T. Tim CHENG

    The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)

  • Vishva M. DIXIT

    National Academy of Sciences

  • Florent GINHOUX

    Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) of Singapore

  • Jiangbin GONG

    National University of Singapore

  • Rajesh GOPAKUMAR

    International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR)

  • Song GUO

    Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  • Bingsheng HE

    National University of Singapore

  • Wanjin HONG

    Wanjin HONG

    Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) of Singapore

  • Zhaomin HOU

    RIKEN

  • Katsushi IKEUCHI

    University of Tokyo

  • Kenji KABASHIMA

    Kenji KABASHIMA

    Kyoto University

  • Jong Hae KEUM

    Korea Institute for Advanced Study

  • Takashi KUMAGAI

    Waseda University

  • Pooi See LEE

    Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

  • Kai LI

    Princeton University

  • Dawei MA

    Southern University of Science and Technology

  • Tulika MITRA

    National University of Singapore

  • Akihiro NAKAO

    The University of Tokyo

  • Vijaykrishnan NARAYANAN

    Pennsylvania State University

  • Bao Chau NGO

    The University of Hong Kong

  • Kaoru ONO

    Kyoto University

  • Je-Geun PARK

    Seoul National University

  • Hee-Sup SHIN

    Institute for Basic Science (IBS)

  • Harry SHUM

    Tsinghua University

  • Mikiko SIOMI

    The University of Tokyo

  • Vasudevan SRINIVAS

    University at Buffalo

  • Gang TIAN

    Peking University/Princeton University

  • Krishnaswamy VIJAYRAGHAVAN

    Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)

  • Nanlin WANG

    Peking University

  • Xiaofan Wang

    Xiaofan WANG

    Duke University

  • Meng WANG

    HHMI Janelia Research Campus

  • Yu WANG

    Tsinghua University

  • Hongming WENG

    Chinese Academy of Sciences

  • Jingke WENG

    Northeastern University

  • Hong WU

    Peking University

  • Limei XU

    Peking University

  • Hiroshi YAMAMOTO

    Institute for Molecular Science

  • Wei YANG

    National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  • Yao YAO

    Yao YAO

    National University of Singapore

Learn more about AYSF Committees