Hikari Okita’s interest in science was first sparked by her need to wear glasses for near-sightedness during elementary school. It led her to undergrad studies in applied chemistry and biochemical engineering, then researching genetic materials in graduate school and eventually into academia. “Finding the origins of life, something I couldn’t do if I researched cures for diseases at a pharmaceutical company, I thought would make my life more colorful,” she says.
Okita is one of 18 scientists and researchers who made this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia: Healthcare & Science list, representing a new generation of bright minds who are on the cusp of scientific breakthroughs and discoveries at home and abroad.
After earning a Ph.D. in biomolecular engineering from Nagoya University last year, Okita joined the Institute of Science Tokyo, where she is researching the potential of xeno-nucleic acid (XNA), a more durable version of DNA and RNA but with similar genetic storage capabilities. XNA could help in developing artificial life and determining its origins, going back as many as “four billion years,” according to Okita. It also has the potential to transform drug discovery and delivery and medical diagnostics as it is more resistant than DNA and RNA, for example, to being broken down by the body’s enzymes.
Finding the origins of life, something I couldn’t do if I researched cures for diseases at a pharmaceutical company, I thought would make my life more colorful.
Okita’s research efforts have brought her recognition. In 2024, she won the Nagoya University 3 Minute Thesis Competition for her succinct explanation of her work on the origin of life. Last year, she earned the 20th L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Japan Fellowship in Life Sciences. Ultimately, Okita wants to replicate the first forms of life and is eager to leverage XNA for society’s benefit. “Of course, as a scientist, I want to solve that origin-of-life puzzle,” she says, “but I really want to make something useful too.”
Another young researcher on the list is Liu Zhengwu. The 29-year-old assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong is working on brain-computer interface technologies. His research into how to decode and monitor brain signals might lead to the next generation of brain implants that allow people to control external devices through their minds. Liu has published in Nature Communications, Nature Electronics and Science Advances, receiving more than 1,700 citations. He earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from China's Tsinghua University.
Hieu Nguyen, Knight-Hennessy scholar at Stanford University's School of Medicine.
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Hailing from Vietnam, Hieu Nguyen is a Knight-Hennessy scholar at Stanford University's School of Medicine. Last year, he contributed to a paper published by Nature that discussed how certain gene mutations may cause cancer. The young scientist is an advisor to the World Telehealth Initiative, a California-based nonprofit that tries to bring long-distance medical services to underserved communities globally
With AI playing an increasingly central role in daily life, multiple listees this year are centering their work on the technology. Their cutting-edge research ranges from building next-generation large language models (LLMs) to developing safer methods for data protection and AI training.
Zhang Wenxuan, assistant professor at the 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 trying to make large language models (LLMs) more inclusive and reflect inputs from lesser-known cultures and languages. Zhang has helped develop SeaLLMs, a series of models tailored for Southeast Asian languages, including Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese. Last year, he was included on Stanford University's World's Top 2% scientists list.
Chinese researcher Sean Du is studying the responsible use of AI as well as methods to reduce model hallucination. Du is an assistant professor of computing and data science at Nanyang Technological University. He also heads the school's RADIO lab (Responsible, Aligned, Deployable Intelligence for Human Good).
Also from China, Shi Weijia is focusing on how to better train large language models (LLMs) with different datasets. An incoming assistant professor of computer science at Cornell University, she once led the FlexOlmo project at the Seattle-based nonprofit Allen Institute for AI (Ai2), which was founded by the late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. The project focused on protecting data ownership in the training of AI by letting owners decide when their data is active in a model. In 2024, Shi received an outstanding paper award from the Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL). Her research has been cited over 10,000 times to date.
This year’s list also highlights healthtech entrepreneurs who are innovating patient care and digital health solutions.
In Taiwan, I-Lin Tsai cofounded Aztron Medtech in 2021, which has developed a surgical device for minimally invasive tendon repair procedures. The company says its product, which can repair tendons through an incision of 1 centimeter or less, has been used in 100 procedures in the U.S. as of February.
Meanwhile, two neurotech companies from India have developed non-invasive headsets designed to improve mental health. Cofounded by Lakshay Sahni and Ramya Yellapragada in 2020, Marbles Health developed EASE, a headset offering neuromodulation therapy to relieve anxiety, depression and potentially treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Marbles Health says the hardware, which uses mild electric currents to stimulate the brain, has been used in more than 75 hospitals and clinics across India. The company is backed by investors including Capital 2B and Whiteboard Capital.
Ramya Yellapragada and Lakshay Sahni, cofounders of Marbles Health.
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And Aman Kumar, Dhawal Jain and Jai Sharma cofounded Mave Health in late 2023. The Bangalore-based startup has developed a brain-stimulating headset to relieve stress, improve sleep and mental health. Using low-intensity electrical currents, the $495 wearable device can stimulate the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thinking and emotions. In March, Mave Health raised $2.1 million in seed funding from investors led by Blume Ventures.
Beyond hardware innovations, several young entrepreneurs are focusing on software, launching new enterprise services tailored specifically for medical professionals.
In Japan, Yo Nakahara, Ma Shaoang and Rentaro Nomura cofounded Pleap, now medimo, in 2022. The AI co-pilot for healthcare professionals, which is trained on medical terminology and data, enables doctors to speak their notes on patients and generates summaries that are put into the charts.
Yo Nakahara, Ma Shaoang and Rentaro Nomura, cofounders of medimo.
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In Australia, Keoki Alexander-Chang cofounded Minikai in 2024 to streamline paperwork for healthcare professionals, especially those working with the disabled and elderly. The Melbourne-based startup uses AI to help them take notes, generate patient history summaries and track changes in patient conditions. Minikai, which has made its service available in Australia and New Zealand, raised A$2.5 million ($1.8 million) last year in seed funding from investors led by Tidal Ventures.
–Additional reporting by James Simms.
Read our complete Healthcare & Science list here – and be sure to check out our full Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2026 coverage here.
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