Shao Feng of the National Institute of Biological Sciences in Beijing became the first scientist holding Chinese citizenship to win the World Laureates Foundation Prize on Sept 10.

Shao shared the 2026 life science or medicine prize together with Yuan Junying of the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Wang Xiaodong, also of the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing; and Vishva Dixit of Genentech in the United States.

The laureates were recognized for elucidating the molecular pathways of distinct forms of programmed cell death that govern various physiological functions and disease pathogenesis. They will share prize money of 10 million yuan ($1.49 million).

Randy Schekman, chair of the prize selection committee, praised these pioneering scientists for their breakthroughs in transforming programmed cell death from observed biological phenomena into a well-defined molecular pathway system.

Ingrid Daubechies of Duke University received the computer science or mathematics prize for her contributions to applied harmonic analysis, wavelet theory, and image compression, as well as her leadership in the international mathematics community.

Michael Jordan, chair of the prize selection committee, noted that Daubechies advanced some of the most profound developments in wavelet theory, particularly compactly supported continuous wavelets, which provided rigorous mathematical meaning to the notion of locality.

The inaugural young scientists award honored six scientists, five of whom held Chinese citizenship, each receiving 1 million yuan.

Ten additional young scholars were honored as finalists for the 2026 WLF Prize for young scientists.

The WLA Prize, inaugurated in 2021, aims to recognize outstanding researchers and technology pioneers who have not yet received top-tier awards such as the Nobel Prize, Turing Award, Wolf Prize, Abel Prize, Lasker Award, Canada Gairdner International Award, or Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.

Source: China Daily