The Tamesis
From researching brain-computer interfaces to studying the origins of life and developing new artificial intelligence services, this year’s inductees are charting new frontiers in healthcare and science.
HIkari Okita’s Her interest in science was first sparked by the need to wear glasses for myopia in elementary school. This led her to study applied chemistry and biochemical engineering as an undergraduate, then to study genetic materials in graduate school, and eventually into academia. “Finding the origin of life, I wouldn’t be able to do that if I were working at a pharmaceutical company working on treatments for disease, but I think it would make my life more colorful,” she said.
Okita is one of 18 scientists and researchers who made this achievement this year Forbes Top 30 Asia Under 30: Healthcare and Science Listrepresenting a new generation of smart people on the cusp of scientific breakthroughs and discoveries at home and abroad.
After receiving his Ph.D. Last year, after earning a PhD in biomolecular engineering from Nagoya University, Okita joined the Tokyo Institute of Science, where she is investigating the potential of xenogeneic nucleic acids (XNA), which are more durable versions of DNA and RNA but have similar genetic storage capabilities. Okita said XNA could help develop artificial life and determine its origins, which can be traced back to “four billion years ago.” It also has the potential to transform drug discovery, delivery and medical diagnostics because it is more resistant to breakdown by enzymes in the body than DNA and RNA.
Finding the origin of life is something I couldn’t do while working at a pharmaceutical company working on disease treatments, and I think it will make my life richer.
Okita’s research efforts have brought her recognition. In 2024, she won the Nagoya University Three-Minute Essay Competition for her concise explanation of the study of the origin of life. Last year, she won the 20th L’Oréal-UNESCO Japan Women in Science Scholarship in Life Sciences. Ultimately, Okita hopes to replicate the original life form and aspires to use XNA to benefit society. “Of course, as a scientist, I want to solve the puzzle of the origin of life,” she says, “but I also really want to make something useful.”
Another young researcher on the list is Liu Zhengwu. this The 29-year-old assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong is researching brain-computer interface technology. His research on how to decode and monitor brain signals could lead to the next generation of brain implants, allowing people to control external devices with their thoughts. Liu has published papers in Nature Communications, Nature Electronics and Science Advances, which have been cited more than 1,700 times. He received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Tsinghua University, China.
Hieu Nguyen, Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine.
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from vietnam, Xiao Ruan is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University School of Medicine. Last year, he published a paper in the journal Science discussing how certain genetic mutations can lead to cancer. The young scientist serves as an advisor to the World Telemedicine Initiative, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to bringing telemedicine services to underserved communities around the world
artificial intelligence research
As artificial intelligence plays an increasingly important role in daily life, many of this year’s nominees have focused their work on this technology. Their cutting-edge research ranges from building next-generation large language models (LLMs) to developing more secure data protection and AI training methods.
Zhang Wenxuan is an assistant professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design.
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Zhang Wenxuan is an Assistant Professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design. He is working to make large language models (LLMs) more inclusive and reflect input from lesser-known cultures and languages. Zhang helped develop SeaLLM, a family of models tailored for Southeast Asian languages including Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese. Last year, he was named to Stanford University’s list of the top 2% of scientists in the world.
Chinese researcher Dushawn Research is underway on ways to use artificial intelligence responsibly and reduce model illusions. Du is an Assistant Professor of Computing and Data Science at Nanyang Technological University. He also leads the school’s RADIO Lab (Responsible, Coordinated, Deployable Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity).
Also from China, Schweizer Focus on how to better train large language models (LLMs) using different datasets. She is a soon-to-be assistant professor of computer science at Cornell University and previously led the FlexOlmo project at the Seattle-based nonprofit Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Ai2), founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The project focuses on protecting data ownership in AI training by letting owners decide when their data is active in models. In 2024, Professor Shi won the Outstanding Paper Award at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL). To date, her research has been cited more than 10,000 times.
Health technology innovation
This year’s list also highlights medtech entrepreneurs who are innovating patient care and digital health solutions.
In Taiwan, Jolin Tsai co-founded Aztron Medical Technology In 2021, the company developed a surgical device for minimally invasive tendon repair surgery. The company said its product can repair tendons through incisions 1 centimeter or smaller and had performed 100 surgeries in the United States as of February.
Meanwhile, two neurotech companies in India have developed non-invasive headphones aimed at improving mental health. Co-founder Lakshe Sani and Ramya Yerapragada 2020, marble health Developed EASE, a headset that provides neuromodulation therapy to relieve anxiety, depression, and potentially treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Marbles Health said the hardware uses mild electrical currents to stimulate the brain and is already in use in more than 75 hospitals and clinics in India. The company is backed by investors including Capital 2B and Whiteboard Capital.
Ramya Yellapragada and Lakshay Sahni, co-founders of Marbles Health.
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and Aman Kumar, Dawar Jain and Jai Sharma co-founded Maeve Health Late 2023. The Bengaluru-based startup has developed a brain-stimulating headset that relieves stress, improves sleep and mental health. The $495 wearable device uses low-intensity electrical current to stimulate the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thinking and emotion. In March, Mave Health raised $2.1 million in seed funding from investors led by Blume Ventures.
Help medical professionals
In addition to hardware innovation, some young entrepreneurs are also focusing on software, launching new enterprise services tailored for medical professionals.
In Japan, Zhongyuan Yang, Ma Shao’ang and Rintaro Nomura Now co-founder of Pleap Medimo2022. An AI co-pilot for healthcare professionals is trained on medical terminology and data, allowing doctors to speak their notes to patients and generate summaries that go into charts.
medimo co-founders Yang Nakahara, Ma Shaoang and Rintaro Nomura.
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In Australia, Keoki Alexander-Zhang co-founded minicai By 2024, streamline paperwork for healthcare professionals, especially those working with people with disabilities and the elderly. The Melbourne-based startup uses artificial intelligence to help them take notes, generate summaries of patient medical history and track changes in a patient’s condition. Minikai, which already offers services in Australia and New Zealand, raised A$2.5 million ($1.8 million) in seed funding last year from investors led by Tidal Ventures.
–Additional reporting by James Sims.
Read our full Healthcare and Science list here – And be sure to check out our full content Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 2026 Coverage here.
