Asia's Most
Influential Scientists
100
A rigorous annual ranking recognizing scientists whose discoveries, methods, theories, platforms and field leadership shaped Asia's scientific authority and global research influence in 2018.
InfluenceAsia Power 100: Asia's Most Influential Scientists 2018 identifies scientists whose work carried exceptional authority in a year shaped by cancer immunotherapy, genome-editing ethics, quantum communication, artificial intelligence, energy storage, materials science, food security, mathematics, infectious disease, structural biology and regenerative medicine.
The 2018 edition treats scientific influence as the capacity to alter what humanity can know, measure, treat, build or responsibly govern. The strongest scientists in this list did more than publish important work; they created durable methods, opened fields, changed clinical imagination, trained research cultures, built scientific confidence in Asia and supplied intellectual tools that other researchers could not ignore.
InfluenceAsia prepared this ranking as an original editorial research product. The list, scoring architecture, placement logic, written profiles, annual theme, methodology and publication language are controlled by InfluenceAsia. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by any person, external organization, public body, commercial entity, research setting or stakeholder named or implied.
Responsible Discovery: Immunity, Quantum Trust and the New Scientific Power of Asia
In 2018, Asian science stood at a difficult and powerful threshold. Cancer immunotherapy reached one of the highest levels of recognition. Quantum communication made scientific sovereignty visible. Mathematics produced new Asian-linked authority. Gene editing entered a moral crisis that forced the research world to separate capability from legitimacy. Artificial intelligence, batteries, materials and public-health science all showed that scientific influence is measured not only by discovery, but by responsibility, translation and trust.
Scientists who set the tone for the 2018 edition
The first names on the list show the breadth of scientific influence in this edition, from cancer immunology and regenerative medicine to global health, cell biology, particle physics and energy storage.
Tasuku Honjo
Honjo leads the 2018 edition because PD-1 biology moved from foundational immunology into one of the defining principles of modern cancer therapy. His 2018 recognition gave Asian biomedical science a rare public moment in which deep mechanism, clinical transformation and patient consequence aligned.
Shinya Yamanaka
Yamanaka is ranked second for a discovery that continued to reshape biology in 2018: mature cells could be reprogrammed into pluripotent cells. His influence extended across disease modeling, drug screening, regenerative medicine, ethics and the responsible translation of stem-cell platforms.
Tu Youyou
Tu is included for a life-saving antimalarial discovery that remained one of Asia's most consequential biomedical achievements in 2018. Her influence showed how disciplined pharmacological investigation could transform global health and make scientific value visible through survival at population scale.
Yoshinori Ohsumi
Ohsumi is ranked for making autophagy a central language of modern cell biology. By 2018, his discoveries shaped research in metabolism, aging, neurodegeneration, immunity, infection and cancer, giving scientists a framework for understanding how cells survive stress and renew themselves.
Takaaki Kajita
Kajita is included for neutrino research that changed the understanding of particle mass and strengthened Asia's role in large-scale experimental physics. In 2018, his influence remained central to fundamental physics and to the credibility of ambitious underground observatory science.
Satoshi Omura
Omura is ranked for natural-product research that transformed parasite control and improved human and animal health. His 2018 influence reflected the continuing need for microbial chemistry, field-facing medicine and drug discovery models that begin with patient and environmental consequence.
The 100 scientists in the 2018 Power 100
Entries are ordered by InfluenceAsia's 2018 scientific influence score and include each scientist's Asia link, field and editorial rationale.
| Rank | Scientist | Asia Link | Field | Score | 2018 Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tasuku Honjo | Japan | Immunology and Cancer Therapy | 99.4 | Honjo leads the 2018 edition because PD-1 biology moved from foundational immunology into one of the defining principles of modern cancer therapy. His 2018 recognition gave Asian biomedical science a rare public moment in which deep mechanism, clinical transformation and patient consequence aligned. |
| 2 | Shinya Yamanaka | Japan | Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine | 99.1 | Yamanaka is ranked second for a discovery that continued to reshape biology in 2018: mature cells could be reprogrammed into pluripotent cells. His influence extended across disease modeling, drug screening, regenerative medicine, ethics and the responsible translation of stem-cell platforms. |
| 3 | Tu Youyou | China | Pharmacology and Malariology | 98.8 | Tu is included for a life-saving antimalarial discovery that remained one of Asia's most consequential biomedical achievements in 2018. Her influence showed how disciplined pharmacological investigation could transform global health and make scientific value visible through survival at population scale. |
| 4 | Yoshinori Ohsumi | Japan | Cell Biology and Autophagy | 98.5 | Ohsumi is ranked for making autophagy a central language of modern cell biology. By 2018, his discoveries shaped research in metabolism, aging, neurodegeneration, immunity, infection and cancer, giving scientists a framework for understanding how cells survive stress and renew themselves. |
| 5 | Takaaki Kajita | Japan | Particle Astrophysics and Neutrino Physics | 98.2 | Kajita is included for neutrino research that changed the understanding of particle mass and strengthened Asia's role in large-scale experimental physics. In 2018, his influence remained central to fundamental physics and to the credibility of ambitious underground observatory science. |
| 6 | Satoshi Omura | Japan | Natural Products and Infectious Disease | 97.9 | Omura is ranked for natural-product research that transformed parasite control and improved human and animal health. His 2018 influence reflected the continuing need for microbial chemistry, field-facing medicine and drug discovery models that begin with patient and environmental consequence. |
| 7 | Akira Yoshino | Japan | Battery Chemistry and Energy Storage | 97.6 | Yoshino is included for practical lithium-ion battery architecture, a scientific contribution already central in 2018 to mobile electronics, electric mobility and renewable-energy storage. His influence demonstrated how materials chemistry can become global infrastructure. |
| 8 | Shuji Nakamura | Japan / United States | Semiconductor Engineering and Photonics | 97.3 | Nakamura is ranked for the blue LED breakthrough that reshaped lighting, displays and energy-efficient electronics. In 2018, his work remained a model of device science reaching billions of people through lower-energy illumination and visual technology. |
| 9 | Isamu Akasaki | Japan | Semiconductor Materials and Blue LEDs | 97 | Akasaki is included for foundational gallium nitride research that made blue light-emitting diodes practical. His 2018 influence lay in the long scientific patience required to turn difficult materials problems into technologies that change cities, screens and energy use. |
| 10 | Hiroshi Amano | Japan | Semiconductor Materials and Optoelectronics | 96.7 | Amano is ranked for work that helped transform gallium nitride into a manufacturable optoelectronic platform. In 2018, his influence remained embedded in lighting, displays, communications and the wider transition toward lower-energy infrastructure. |
| 11 | Ryoji Noyori | Japan | Chemistry and Asymmetric Catalysis | 96.4 | Noyori is included for catalytic chemistry that reshaped stereoselective synthesis, pharmaceutical production and fine-chemical manufacturing. His 2018 relevance reflected the power of precise molecular design to make medicines and materials more efficient, selective and scalable. |
| 12 | Venkatraman Ramakrishnan | India / United Kingdom / United States | Structural Biology | 96.1 | Ramakrishnan is ranked for ribosome research that transformed understanding of protein synthesis at atomic resolution. In 2018, his influence combined molecular discovery, scientific leadership and a public voice for rigor, evidence and institutional standards in research. |
| 13 | Ada Yonath | Israel | Crystallography and Structural Biology | 95.8 | Yonath is included for pioneering ribosome crystallography under conditions once considered nearly impossible. Her 2018 influence remained visible across structural biology, antibiotic research, method innovation and the scientific imagination required to solve large molecular machines. |
| 14 | Aziz Sancar | Turkey / United States | DNA Repair and Molecular Biology | 95.5 | Sancar is ranked for illuminating DNA repair mechanisms that connect molecular damage, cancer, aging, circadian biology and environmental stress. In 2018, genome stability remained one of the core languages of biomedical science, keeping his work exceptionally relevant. |
| 15 | C. N. R. Rao | India | Materials Chemistry and Solid-State Science | 95.2 | Rao is included for defining materials chemistry as a major Asian scientific strength. In 2018, his influence extended across oxides, nanomaterials, solid-state chemistry and the creation of research confidence for generations of Indian scientists. |
| 16 | Yuan Longping | China | Agronomy and Hybrid Rice | 94.9 | Yuan is ranked for hybrid rice science that helped change food security across Asia. In 2018, his influence remained central to agricultural productivity, hunger reduction, crop improvement and the proposition that scientific leadership must answer civilizational needs. |
| 17 | Jian-Wei Pan | China | Quantum Physics and Quantum Communication | 94.6 | Pan is included for making quantum communication one of China's most visible scientific frontiers by 2018. His influence reflected satellite-enabled quantum experiments, secure communication ambition and the broader emergence of Asian-led physics as a strategic technological force. |
| 18 | Akshay Venkatesh | India / Australia | Mathematics and Number Theory | 94.3 | Venkatesh is ranked for receiving the 2018 Fields Medal and for work synthesizing number theory, dynamics, topology and representation theory. His influence reflected rare mathematical breadth and the global visibility of Indian-origin excellence in pure mathematics. |
| 19 | Caucher Birkar | Iran / United Kingdom | Mathematics and Algebraic Geometry | 94 | Birkar is included for receiving the 2018 Fields Medal for major advances in birational geometry and Fano varieties. His scientific story carried both technical depth and symbolic force, showing how mathematical authority can emerge from difficult personal and geographic circumstances. |
| 20 | Shing-Tung Yau | China / United States | Mathematics and Geometric Analysis | 93.7 | Yau is ranked for transforming geometric analysis, differential geometry and mathematical physics. By 2018, his influence extended through Calabi-Yau geometry, general relativity, mathematical education and sustained field-building for Chinese and Asian mathematics. |
| 21 | Andrew Yao | China / United States | Theoretical Computer Science | 93.4 | Yao is included for foundational work in computational complexity, communication complexity, cryptography and algorithms. In 2018, his influence remained decisive for Asian computer science through theory, mentorship and the creation of high-level research cultures. |
| 22 | Shafi Goldwasser | Israel / United States | Cryptography and Computational Theory | 93.1 | Goldwasser is ranked for probabilistic encryption, zero-knowledge proofs and the mathematical foundations of secure computation. In 2018, her work remained part of the intellectual infrastructure behind digital trust, privacy, verification and secure systems. |
| 23 | Adi Shamir | Israel | Cryptography and Computer Science | 92.8 | Shamir is included for public-key cryptography, cryptanalysis and secure computation. By 2018, his contributions had become part of the invisible architecture of digital identity, secure communication and financial exchange. |
| 24 | Chen-Ning Yang | China / United States | Theoretical Physics | 92.5 | Yang is ranked for field-defining contributions to symmetry, gauge theory and particle physics. In 2018, his influence remained both scientific and symbolic: a deep theoretical legacy and a bridge between Chinese scientific identity and the highest level of modern physics. |
| 25 | Tsung-Dao Lee | China / United States | Theoretical Physics | 92.2 | Lee is included for parity-violation work that changed the foundations of particle physics. In 2018, his influence endured through theory, scientific mentorship and the continuing visibility of Chinese-born physicists within global fundamental research. |
| 26 | Manjul Bhargava | India / Canada / United States | Mathematics and Number Theory | 91.9 | Bhargava is ranked for original methods in number theory, arithmetic statistics and algebraic structures. In 2018, he represented mathematical creativity with unusual public clarity, linking deep technical work to a broader sense of intellectual elegance. |
| 27 | Ngo Bao Chau | Vietnam / France | Mathematics and Representation Theory | 91.6 | Ngo is included for proving the fundamental lemma and elevating Vietnamese mathematics into global visibility. In 2018, his influence linked abstract mathematical achievement with the institution-building required for emerging research communities to thrive. |
| 28 | Nima Arkani-Hamed | Iran / Canada / United States | Theoretical Physics | 91.3 | Arkani-Hamed is ranked for original approaches to particle physics, extra dimensions, scattering amplitudes and future collider thinking. In 2018, his influence remained strong wherever physicists sought new mathematical languages for fundamental reality. |
| 29 | Cumrun Vafa | Iran / United States | String Theory and Mathematical Physics | 91 | Vafa is included for major contributions to string dualities, black hole entropy, quantum gravity and geometry-field theory connections. In 2018, his influence remained central to high-energy theory and the mathematical structure of modern physics. |
| 30 | Raj Reddy | India / United States | Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science | 90.7 | Reddy is ranked for foundational contributions to artificial intelligence, speech recognition and human-computer interaction. As AI became a public and industrial priority in 2018, his long-term influence on intelligent systems and applied computing was newly visible. |
| 31 | Fei-Fei Li | China / United States | Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision | 90.4 | Li is included for shaping modern computer vision through large-scale image understanding and for elevating human-centered AI in 2018. Her influence connected technical datasets, machine perception, ethical awareness and the need for more inclusive AI communities. |
| 32 | Feng Zhang | China / United States | Genome Engineering and Neurotechnology | 90.1 | Zhang is ranked for contributions to CRISPR genome-editing tools and optogenetic systems. In 2018, the ethical crisis around human germline editing made responsible tool development urgent, increasing the importance of scientists who could defend capability with restraint. |
| 33 | Yuk Ming Dennis Lo | Hong Kong | Genomic Medicine and Liquid Biopsy | 89.8 | Lo is included for discovering and translating cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood, enabling non-invasive prenatal testing and broader liquid-biopsy thinking. His 2018 influence bridged genomics, diagnostics, obstetrics, oncology and clinical laboratory medicine. |
| 34 | Huda Zoghbi | Lebanon / United States | Neuroscience and Human Genetics | 89.5 | Zoghbi is ranked for discoveries connecting genes, brain development and neurodevelopmental disease. In 2018, her work remained influential across Rett syndrome biology, movement disorders, pediatric neurology and the search for molecular explanations of complex brain conditions. |
| 35 | Omar M. Yaghi | Jordan / United States | Reticular Chemistry and Materials Science | 89.2 | Yaghi is included for pioneering metal-organic frameworks and covalent organic frameworks. In 2018, his work mattered to gas storage, water harvesting, carbon capture, catalysis and the design of porous materials with programmable structure. |
| 36 | Xiaoliang Sunney Xie | China / United States | Biophysical Chemistry and Single-Cell Genomics | 88.9 | Xie is ranked for single-molecule biophysical chemistry, coherent Raman imaging and single-cell genomics. In 2018, his influence connected molecular observation, genomic analysis and biomedical technology, making the behavior of individual molecules and cells experimentally actionable. |
| 37 | Nieng Yan | China / United States | Structural Biology and Membrane Transport | 88.6 | Yan is included for structural biology of membrane transporters and ion channels. In 2018, her work helped clarify how molecules cross biological membranes, a question central to physiology, drug discovery, neuroscience and the international visibility of Chinese structural biology. |
| 38 | Shi Yigong | China | Structural Biology and Molecular Mechanisms | 88.3 | Shi is ranked for structural biology work on apoptosis, protein complexes and molecular machines. In 2018, his influence also reflected a broader commitment to building world-class biological science capacity in China. |
| 39 | Wang Xiaodong | China / United States | Cell Death and Cancer Biology | 88 | Wang is included for discoveries in apoptosis, mitochondrial signaling and cell-death mechanisms. In 2018, his influence remained visible in cancer biology, immunology and the transformation of molecular cell death into a therapeutic research language. |
| 40 | Chuan He | China / United States | Chemical Biology and RNA Epigenetics | 87.7 | He is ranked for work on RNA modifications and epigenetic regulation, especially the chemical language of gene expression after transcription. In 2018, RNA biology was becoming a major frontier, making his contributions important to cancer, development and biotechnology. |
| 41 | Xiaowei Zhuang | China / United States | Bioimaging and Single-Molecule Biology | 87.4 | Zhuang is included for super-resolution imaging and single-molecule methods that allow biological structures to be observed with extraordinary precision. In 2018, her influence extended across cell biology, neurobiology, imaging technology and quantitative biological measurement. |
| 42 | Peidong Yang | China / United States | Nanoscience, Materials and Energy | 87.1 | Yang is ranked for nanowires, semiconductor nanostructures and materials relevant to energy conversion. In 2018, his influence reflected the movement from nanoscale synthesis toward practical questions in artificial photosynthesis, solar fuels and advanced functional materials. |
| 43 | Yi Cui | China / United States | Nanomaterials, Batteries and Energy Storage | 86.8 | Cui is included for nanomaterials approaches to batteries, energy storage and environmental technologies. In 2018, his work sat at the intersection of materials design and the urgent need for higher-performance, safer and more sustainable energy systems. |
| 44 | Wang Yifang | China | Particle Physics and Neutrino Experiments | 86.5 | Wang is ranked for leadership in neutrino physics and large-scale experimental design. In 2018, his influence reflected China's growing ambition in fundamental physics and the value of precision experiments for answering questions about matter, mass and cosmic evolution. |
| 45 | Hualan Chen | China | Virology and Veterinary Infectious Disease | 86.2 | Chen is included for research on avian influenza and animal-origin infectious disease. In 2018, her influence mattered to surveillance, vaccine strategy, zoonotic risk and the scientific understanding required to protect both agriculture and public health. |
| 46 | George F. Gao | China | Virology, Immunology and Public Health Science | 85.9 | Gao is ranked for work on viral entry, immunology and infectious-disease preparedness. In 2018, his influence reflected the importance of pathogen science, surveillance capacity and scientific leadership in a region deeply aware of emerging-disease risk. |
| 47 | Zhang Yitang | China / United States | Mathematics and Number Theory | 85.6 | Zhang is included for breakthroughs on bounded gaps between primes, a result that reshaped modern analytic number theory. In 2018, his influence remained a powerful example of late-blooming originality and the unpredictable nature of mathematical discovery. |
| 48 | Vivian Yam | Hong Kong | Inorganic Chemistry and Photochemistry | 85.3 | Yam is ranked for organometallic photochemistry, luminescent metal complexes and supramolecular assemblies. In 2018, her influence linked fundamental inorganic chemistry to sensing, light-emitting materials, solar-energy concepts and the visibility of Hong Kong science. |
| 49 | Chi-Huey Wong | Taiwan / United States | Glycoscience and Chemical Biology | 85 | Wong is included for chemoenzymatic synthesis, glycan science and carbohydrate-based biomedical chemistry. In 2018, his work remained important to vaccines, antibodies, diagnostics and the effort to make complex biological sugars experimentally tractable. |
| 50 | Yuan Tseh Lee | Taiwan / United States | Chemical Dynamics | 84.7 | Lee is ranked for crossed molecular beam research and the molecular-level understanding of chemical reactions. In 2018, his influence remained important in physical chemistry and in the development of Taiwan's scientific identity on the world stage. |
| 51 | Wen-Hsiung Li | Taiwan / United States | Molecular Evolution and Genomics | 84.4 | Li is included for major contributions to molecular evolution, genome comparison and statistical approaches to evolutionary biology. By 2018, his work shaped how scientists interpreted genomic divergence, selection, mutation and evolutionary history. |
| 52 | Mien-Chie Hung | Taiwan / United States | Cancer Biology and Molecular Oncology | 84.1 | Hung is ranked for cancer biology work connected to oncogenic signaling, translational oncology and therapeutic resistance. In 2018, his influence reflected the continuing importance of molecular pathways in precision cancer research. |
| 53 | Tak Wah Mak | Hong Kong / Canada | Immunology and Cancer Biology | 83.8 | Mak is included for the discovery of the T-cell receptor and later work in immune regulation, apoptosis and cancer metabolism. In 2018, his influence stretched from foundational immunology to the scientific basis of modern immunotherapy. |
| 54 | Lap-Chee Tsui | Hong Kong / Canada | Human Genetics | 83.5 | Tsui is ranked for co-discovery of the cystic fibrosis gene and leadership in human genetics. In 2018, his scientific legacy remained central to gene mapping, inherited-disease research and the translation of molecular genetics into clinical understanding. |
| 55 | Malik Peiris | Sri Lanka / Hong Kong | Virology and Emerging Infectious Disease | 83.2 | Peiris is included for major contributions to influenza, SARS-related coronavirus research and outbreak virology. In 2018, his influence reflected the need for regional scientific capacity in surveillance, diagnostics and emerging-infection preparedness. |
| 56 | Gagandeep Kang | India | Vaccinology, Microbiology and Public Health | 82.9 | Kang is ranked for vaccine research, enteric infections, child health and public-health science in India. In 2018, her influence represented the crucial bridge between laboratory evidence, clinical trials, community health and vaccine implementation in low-resource settings. |
| 57 | Soumya Swaminathan | India | Tuberculosis, HIV and Global Health Science | 82.6 | Swaminathan is included for research on tuberculosis, HIV and child health, and for bringing scientific discipline to international public-health work. In 2018, her profile represented the visibility of Indian medical science in global health decision-making. |
| 58 | K. VijayRaghavan | India | Developmental Biology and Science Leadership | 82.3 | VijayRaghavan is ranked for developmental genetics, neurogenetics and the strengthening of Indian biological research capacity. In 2018, his influence also reflected the importance of scientific advisory leadership in shaping national research ambition. |
| 59 | Ashoke Sen | India | String Theory and Theoretical Physics | 82 | Sen is included for major contributions to string dualities, tachyon condensation, black hole entropy and quantum gravity. In 2018, he remained one of India's most internationally respected theoretical physicists and a central figure in high-energy theory. |
| 60 | Abhay Ashtekar | India / United States | Quantum Gravity and Relativity | 81.7 | Ashtekar is ranked for creating variables and frameworks that reshaped loop quantum gravity. In 2018, his influence remained visible wherever researchers explored the interface of relativity, quantum mechanics, cosmology and mathematical geometry. |
| 61 | Subra Suresh | India / Singapore / United States | Materials Science and Biomechanics | 81.4 | Suresh is included for research spanning materials science, mechanical behavior of materials and biological systems. In 2018, his profile connected engineering science, biomechanics and Asia's ambition to build globally competitive research environments. |
| 62 | M. S. Swaminathan | India | Agricultural Genetics and Food Security | 81.1 | Swaminathan is ranked for scientific leadership in plant breeding, food security and agricultural transformation in India. In 2018, his work remained relevant to sustainable productivity, climate-resilient agriculture and the responsibility of science to reduce hunger. |
| 63 | Gurdev Khush | India / Philippines / United States | Rice Genetics and Plant Breeding | 80.8 | Khush is included for rice breeding work that improved yields and food security across Asia. In 2018, his influence remained embedded in agricultural systems, crop genetics and the story of rice science as a tool of human development. |
| 64 | Rohini Godbole | India | Particle Physics Phenomenology | 80.5 | Godbole is ranked for particle physics phenomenology, collider physics and sustained advocacy for women in science. In 2018, her influence combined technical contributions to high-energy physics with broader scientific participation and visibility in India. |
| 65 | Narendra Karmarkar | India / United States | Optimization and Algorithms | 80.2 | Karmarkar is included for an interior-point algorithm that changed linear programming and practical optimization. In 2018, his influence remained visible in operations research, computational mathematics and the algorithmic infrastructure behind logistics, networks and resource allocation. |
| 66 | Lov Grover | India / United States | Quantum Computing and Algorithms | 79.9 | Grover is ranked for the quantum search algorithm, one of the basic reference points of quantum computing. In 2018, as quantum information moved closer to hardware competition, his algorithm retained exceptional conceptual importance. |
| 67 | Madhu Sudan | India / United States | Theoretical Computer Science | 79.6 | Sudan is included for contributions to probabilistically checkable proofs, hardness of approximation, error-correcting codes and computation theory. In 2018, his work remained fundamental to verification, reliability and the limits of efficient computation. |
| 68 | Umesh Vazirani | India / United States | Quantum Computation and Complexity | 79.3 | Vazirani is ranked for work in computational complexity, quantum computation and algorithmic foundations. In 2018, his influence reflected the growing scientific seriousness of quantum information and the need to understand what computation can and cannot do. |
| 69 | Nergis Mavalvala | Pakistan / United States | Gravitational-Wave Physics and Quantum Measurement | 79 | Mavalvala is included for leadership in gravitational-wave detection and precision measurement science. In 2018, her influence linked frontier physics, instrumentation and Asian-origin visibility in one of the most demanding experimental enterprises in modern science. |
| 70 | Asifa Akhtar | Pakistan / Germany | Epigenetics and Chromatin Biology | 78.7 | Akhtar is ranked for work on chromatin regulation, gene expression and dosage compensation. In 2018, her influence reflected high-level molecular biology and the international rise of Asian-born women scientists in elite research leadership. |
| 71 | Atta-ur-Rahman | Pakistan | Natural Product Chemistry and Science Capacity | 78.4 | Atta-ur-Rahman is included for natural product chemistry, organic chemistry and the development of scientific capacity in Pakistan. In 2018, his influence remained tied to research output, field-building and the visibility of chemical sciences in the Muslim world. |
| 72 | Firdausi Qadri | Bangladesh | Immunology, Microbiology and Vaccines | 78.1 | Qadri is ranked for infectious-disease immunology, enteric vaccines and diagnostics in Bangladesh. In 2018, her work represented locally grounded, globally relevant science addressing cholera, typhoid and vaccine access in vulnerable communities. |
| 73 | Pardis Sabeti | Iran / United States | Computational Genetics and Infectious Disease | 77.8 | Sabeti is included for genomic methods connecting human evolution, pathogen surveillance and outbreak response. In 2018, her influence reflected the growing importance of rapid sequencing, computational biology and genomic epidemiology in infectious-disease preparedness. |
| 74 | Akira Endo | Japan | Biochemistry and Cardiovascular Medicine | 77.5 | Endo is ranked for discovering the first statin, a contribution that transformed cardiovascular prevention. In 2018, the public-health reach of cholesterol-lowering therapy kept his work among Asia's most consequential biomedical discoveries. |
| 75 | Hideo Hosono | Japan | Materials Science and Superconductors | 77.2 | Hosono is included for transparent oxide semiconductors, iron-based superconductors and functional materials discovery. In 2018, his influence connected basic materials chemistry to electronics, display technology and the search for new superconducting systems. |
| 76 | Sumio Iijima | Japan | Nanotechnology and Carbon Nanotubes | 76.9 | Iijima is ranked for carbon nanotube research that catalyzed modern nanotechnology. In 2018, his influence endured across materials science, nanoscale electronics, microscopy and the scientific imagination around one-dimensional carbon structures. |
| 77 | Hideo Ohno | Japan | Spintronics and Semiconductor Physics | 76.6 | Ohno is included for pioneering semiconductor spintronics and magnetic materials research. In 2018, his influence remained important to the long-term pursuit of information technologies that combine electronic charge, spin and materials engineering. |
| 78 | Kenichi Iga | Japan | Photonics and Optical Communications | 76.3 | Iga is ranked for the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser concept, central to optical communications, sensing and data transmission. In 2018, his contribution remained embedded in high-speed networks, optical interconnects and compact photonic systems. |
| 79 | Shimon Sakaguchi | Japan | Immunology and Regulatory T Cells | 76 | Sakaguchi is included for discovering and defining regulatory T cells, reshaping understanding of immune tolerance, autoimmunity and cancer immunity. In 2018, his influence remained highly relevant to immunotherapy, transplantation and immune-system balance. |
| 80 | Masayo Takahashi | Japan | Ophthalmology and Regenerative Medicine | 75.7 | Takahashi is ranked for pioneering clinical work using induced pluripotent stem cells in retinal disease. In 2018, her influence represented the difficult move from stem-cell platform discovery to responsible human therapeutic testing. |
| 81 | Kazutoshi Mori | Japan | Cell Biology and Protein Quality Control | 75.4 | Mori is included for major discoveries in the unfolded protein response, a pathway central to stress biology and disease. In 2018, his work informed research into cellular quality control, neurodegeneration, metabolism and secretory-pathway stress. |
| 82 | Atsushi Miyawaki | Japan | Bioimaging and Fluorescent Protein Technology | 75.1 | Miyawaki is ranked for fluorescent protein tools and imaging technologies that allow live biological processes to be seen in detail. In 2018, his influence was widespread across neuroscience, cell biology, developmental biology and microscopy-driven discovery. |
| 83 | Shigekazu Nagata | Japan | Apoptosis and Immunology | 74.8 | Nagata is included for fundamental work on apoptosis, Fas signaling and immune homeostasis. In 2018, his discoveries remained important to cancer biology, immune regulation, developmental biology and programmed cell death. |
| 84 | Akira Suzuki | Japan | Organic Chemistry and Cross-Coupling | 74.5 | Suzuki is ranked for cross-coupling chemistry that became a standard tool in pharmaceutical, materials and fine-chemical synthesis. In 2018, Suzuki coupling remained a profound example of discovery becoming global laboratory infrastructure. |
| 85 | Ei-ichi Negishi | Japan / United States | Organic Chemistry and Cross-Coupling | 74.2 | Negishi is included for organometallic cross-coupling chemistry that expanded the precision of carbon-carbon bond formation. In 2018, his work remained foundational to synthetic strategy in drug discovery, materials chemistry and complex molecular construction. |
| 86 | Makoto Kobayashi | Japan | Particle Physics | 73.9 | Kobayashi is ranked for theoretical work explaining CP violation through quark mixing, a central element of particle physics. In 2018, his influence remained embedded in the standard model and the intellectual lineage of flavor physics. |
| 87 | Toshihide Maskawa | Japan | Particle Physics | 73.6 | Maskawa is included for the theoretical framework of quark mixing and CP violation developed with Kobayashi. In 2018, his work remained a foundational reference for particle physics and matter-antimatter questions. |
| 88 | Hideki Shirakawa | Japan | Polymer Chemistry and Conductive Materials | 73.3 | Shirakawa is ranked for conductive polymers, a breakthrough that helped expand electronics beyond traditional inorganic materials. In 2018, his influence continued through organic electronics, flexible devices, polymer chemistry and materials innovation. |
| 89 | Nam-Gyu Park | South Korea | Perovskite Solar Cells | 73 | Park is included for pioneering stable perovskite solar-cell research that helped open a major field in photovoltaics. In 2018, his work mattered to renewable-energy materials, solar efficiency and the global race for next-generation photovoltaic technologies. |
| 90 | Taeghwan Hyeon | South Korea | Nanochemistry and Functional Nanomaterials | 72.7 | Hyeon is ranked for controlled synthesis of uniform nanoparticles and functional nanomaterials. In 2018, his influence was visible in catalysis, energy, biomedical imaging and South Korea's position in high-impact nanoscience. |
| 91 | Sang Yup Lee | South Korea | Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology | 72.4 | Lee is included for metabolic engineering, systems biotechnology and microbial production platforms. In 2018, his influence linked biological design to sustainable chemicals, industrial biotechnology and the engineering of cells as production systems. |
| 92 | Kimoon Kim | South Korea | Supramolecular Chemistry | 72.1 | Kim is ranked for cucurbituril chemistry and host-guest supramolecular systems. In 2018, his work remained important to molecular recognition, self-assembly, functional materials and South Korea's international chemistry profile. |
| 93 | Jin-Soo Kim | South Korea | Genome Editing and Molecular Tools | 71.8 | Kim is included for genome-editing research and tools for targeted genetic modification. In 2018, his influence sat within the broader global movement toward precise editing technologies in biology, agriculture and medicine. |
| 94 | Se-Jin Lee | South Korea / United States | Genetics, Muscle Biology and Myostatin | 71.5 | Lee is ranked for discovering myostatin's role in muscle growth and for influencing research into muscle biology, metabolism and therapeutic modulation. In 2018, his work remained relevant to genetics, physiology and regenerative medicine. |
| 95 | Daniel Shechtman | Israel | Materials Science and Quasicrystals | 71.2 | Shechtman is included for the discovery of quasicrystals, a result that changed crystallography and materials science. In 2018, his influence remained a model of disciplined evidence overcoming scientific resistance. |
| 96 | Aaron Ciechanover | Israel | Biochemistry and Protein Degradation | 70.9 | Ciechanover is ranked for work on ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation, a pathway central to cell regulation and disease. In 2018, his influence remained visible across cancer biology, drug discovery and molecular medicine. |
| 97 | Avram Hershko | Israel | Biochemistry and Protein Degradation | 70.6 | Hershko is included for foundational discoveries in the ubiquitin system and controlled protein breakdown. In 2018, the biomedical relevance of proteostasis, cellular regulation and targeted degradation kept his work scientifically current. |
| 98 | Michael Levitt | Israel / United States | Computational Chemistry and Structural Biology | 70.3 | Levitt is ranked for computational models of complex chemical systems and molecular structures. In 2018, his influence connected chemistry, biology and computation, showing how simulation became necessary for understanding molecules at scale. |
| 99 | Amnon Shashua | Israel | Computer Vision, AI and Autonomous Systems | 70 | Shashua is included for contributions to computer vision, machine perception and applied AI systems. In 2018, his influence reflected a research-to-deployment pathway in which scientific ideas about vision became central to autonomous driving and assistive technologies. |
| 100 | Jackie Ying | Singapore / United States | Nanotechnology and Bioengineering | 69.7 | Ying completes the 2018 list for work at the intersection of nanotechnology, bioengineering and materials science. Her influence reflected applied scientific imagination, biomedical materials, catalytic systems and the visibility of women scientists contributing to Asia's research capacity. |
InfluenceAsia Independent Scientific Influence Framework
InfluenceAsia uses a 100-point editorial research framework developed for comparative scientific influence across disciplines. Scores are editorial indicators within this 2018 edition, not laboratory measurements, prize points, grant values, citation counts, hiring recommendations, clinical ratings or investment signals.
InfluenceAsia evaluates scientists through a multi-stage review of disciplinary contribution, field transformation, 2018 relevance, Asian connection, translational consequence, public scientific responsibility and the degree to which the scientist's work changed the operating assumptions of a field.
Biomedical scientists, mathematicians, physicists, chemists, computer scientists, engineers, agronomists and public-health researchers influence the world through different mechanisms. InfluenceAsia therefore normalizes profiles by domain rather than forcing every scientist into a single numerical metric.
Placement reflects the combined strength of discovery originality, global scientific influence, applied and societal consequence, Asia knowledge-system contribution, 2018 relevance, leadership architecture and responsible scientific authority.
Every included scientist must have a verifiable identity, recognized field and defensible scientific contribution by the 2018 editorial horizon. Profiles dependent on unverifiable claims, promotional exaggeration or ethically invalid science are excluded.
The editorial voice is anchored to 2018. Subsequent awards, deaths, appointments, controversies, commercial outcomes and later reputational changes are not used as the basis of this ranking copy.
The ranking order, inclusion threshold, scoring architecture, written profiles, annual theme, methodology language and legal statements are prepared independently by InfluenceAsia. No external roster, prize table, metric table, institutional index or outside ranking controls the final publication copy.
Scientific influence is uneven across fields, languages, publication cultures, national systems, research funding models and disclosure practices. InfluenceAsia therefore treats the final order as a professional editorial ranking rather than a mechanical calculation.
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24
Discovery Originality
The degree to which the scientist introduced a new discovery, theorem, mechanism, material, method, platform, instrument, algorithm, treatment model or research direction.
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20
Global Scientific Influence
International relevance across research communities, field practice, scientific literature, clinical translation, technology platforms and disciplinary standards.
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16
Applied and Societal Consequence
Real-world importance in medicine, public health, agriculture, energy, communication, computing, industry, environment, policy or quality of life.
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14
Asia Knowledge-System Contribution
Contribution to Asian research confidence, talent formation, scientific visibility, field-building, cross-border research identity or Asian-led scientific capacity.
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16
2018 Relevance
Relevance to the scientific, technological, ethical, environmental and public questions that were especially visible in 2018.
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10
Leadership and Field Architecture
Capacity to build fields, train communities, define standards, create platforms, guide responsible science or establish durable intellectual schools.
Eligibility, independence and legal statement
The ranking is an original InfluenceAsia editorial research product. Names, fields and public concepts are used for identification and editorial commentary.
Core Eligible Profiles
Living scientists, physician-scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists, research engineers and science-led inventors whose work had demonstrable international relevance by the 2018 editorial horizon.
Asian Connection
Eligible candidates must have a substantial Asian connection through citizenship, birthplace, heritage, scientific formation, primary research base, long-term contribution to Asian research capacity or globally visible Asian scientific identity.
Evidence Threshold
Candidates must be verifiable public scientific figures with a recognized field, defensible contribution and durable relevance. Fictional, ambiguous, unverifiable or primarily promotional profiles are excluded.
Exclusions
Pure administrators, political figures, celebrity technologists without direct research contributions, deceased figures before the 2018 editorial horizon and profiles whose influence rests mainly on discredited, unsafe or ethically invalid science are excluded.
Treatment of Senior Figures
Senior scientists are evaluated through continued field relevance, active scientific authority, translational consequence or durable influence on research communities, not nostalgia.
Influence Weight
Awards alone are insufficient. InfluenceAsia prioritizes discovery originality, field transformation, applied consequence, Asian knowledge-system contribution, 2018 relevance, leadership architecture and scientific responsibility.
Originality
InfluenceAsia Power 100: Asia's Most Influential Scientists 2018 is an original editorial and research ranking prepared by InfluenceAsia. The selection logic, ranking order, scoring structure, annual theme, methodology, profiles and publication language are independently created and controlled by InfluenceAsia.
Rights Ownership
The InfluenceAsia Power 100 name, edition concept, ranking framework, category language, scores, profiles, methodology and presentation copy are protected editorial assets of InfluenceAsia. All rights are reserved.
Identification Use
Names of scientists, scientific fields, discoveries, technologies, awards and public concepts are used only for identification, factual description and editorial commentary. All external names and marks remain the property of their respective owners.
No Endorsement
Inclusion in the ranking does not constitute endorsement, sponsorship, partnership, employment representation, scientific certification, clinical approval, funding recommendation, investment advice, legal advice, medical advice or official approval by any person or organization named or implied.
Scientific Caution
The ranking is not a substitute for peer review, clinical guidance, regulatory judgment, grant review, hiring review, bibliometric analysis, medical decision-making or professional scientific evaluation. It is an editorial ranking designed for public-facing scientific communication.
Liability Disclaimer
InfluenceAsia presents this ranking for editorial, cultural and research-communication purposes. Readers should not rely on the ranking as the sole basis for academic, medical, legal, investment, regulatory, hiring, partnership or procurement decisions.
Integrity Statement
InfluenceAsia recognizes that science advances through evidence, correction, replication and debate. The ranking honors scientific influence as understood within the 2018 editorial horizon and does not claim to resolve every disciplinary dispute or future reassessment.