On September 29, 2025, the HE Research Fellowship Program officially announced the list of young scientists for its inaugural cohort through the HE Science Foundation’s official website and WeChat account. A total of 20 outstanding early-career scientists in two fields of Medicine & Life Sciences, Energy, Environment & Climate Change, respectively, were selected. Each fellow will receive RMB 2 million in research funding in three years to support their innovative and groundbreaking basic, translational, and applied research.

20 Early-Career Scientists Receive Funding

Since the launch of the HE Research Fellowship Program in November 2024, the initiative has garnered widespread attention from universities and research institutions across China, receiving nearly 1,000 nominations for early-career researchers. After a rigorous review and selection process, including institutional screening, administrative review by the foundation’s secretariat, peer review by senior scientists and experts, and final evaluation by the review committee, 20 young scientists were selected for the inaugural cohort.

The 20 selected fellows represent two key focus areas: 12 in Medicine & Life Sciences and 8 in Energy, Environment & Climate Change. The full list of fellows is as follows:

All 20 fellows have demonstrated exceptional research potential in their respective fields. Their proposed research plans focus on cutting-edge topics and hold significant promise for driving scientific and technological breakthroughs and advancing industrial applications in the fields of Medicine & Life Sciences and Energy, Environment & Climate Change.

The HE Research Fellows Program Inaugural Ceremony and Academic Symposium to Be Held in Late October

To further promote scientific exchange and explore future research directions, the HE Science Foundation plans to host the 2025 HE Research Fellows Program Inaugural Ceremony and Academic Symposium for the first cohort of the HE Research Fellowship Program on October 25, 2025, in Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong. The symposium will feature in-depth discussions in two parallel sessions, focusing on Medicine & Life Sciences, and Energy, Environment & Climate Change. Discussions will center on the feasibility of the fellows’ research plans, technical challenges, and the latest advancements in their respective fields.

Second Cohort Nominations to Begin in November

As the inaugural cohort of the HE Research Fellowship Program is successfully launched, the HE Science Foundation is already planning its next steps. The nomination process for the second cohort is scheduled to begin in November 2025. The program will continue to identify and support early-career researchers with the potential to conduct original and groundbreaking basic, translational, and applied research.