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The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) announced the election of three Academicians from Academia Sinica among its 2018 class of 55 newly members on January 26, 2018 in Trieste, Italy. In addition, a leading scholar from Taiwan was named a co-recipient of the 2018 TWAS Prize in the field of Engineering Sciences.

The three new 2018 TWAS fellows are, in the order of announcement, as follow: Academician Wen-Hwa Lee who is currently a Distinguished Research Fellow of the Genomics Research Center at Academia Sinica and President of the China Medical University. Academician Mei-Hwei Chang who serves as a Distinguished Chair Professor of the Department of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine at the National Taiwan University. Academician Sun-Lin Chung who is a Distinguished Research Fellow and the Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences at Academia Sinica and a Distinguished Chair Professor at the National Taiwan University.

Academician Wen-Hwa Lee was elected as a new fellow in the category of structural, cell and molecular biology. As a pioneer in cancer biology, Dr. Lee identified the first tumor suppressor gene, Retinoblastoma gene (Rb), and discovered that the re-introduction of the Rb gene could suppress the neoplasm. He also discovered and elucidated on the function of two breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA-1 and 2, while also offering insight regarding their potential applications.

Academician Mei-Hwei Chang was elected as a new member in the field of medical and health sciences (including the neurosciences) for her contribution in providing the first and the most long-term evidence to prove that the vaccine for hepatitis B can serve as the first cancer preventive vaccine in humans. She has also made significant inroads in promoting the concept and research of cancer preventive vaccines in the world, which has in turn greatly advanced public health. She was also the TWAS Prize winner in Medical Sciences in 2013.

Academician Sun-Lin Chung was elected as a new member in the area of astronomy, space and earth sciences. Dr. Chung has made significant contribution that increased our understanding of continental tectonics and magma generation based on his extensive studies of the High Asia (area spanning from Tibet to Iran) and other neighboring regions. He was also the 2014 recipient of the TWAS Prize in Earth Sciences.

Professor Yu-Chee Tseng, a lifetime Chair Professor and the former Dean of the College of Computer Science at the National Chiao Tung University, received the 2018 TWAS Prize in Engineering Sciences. He was awarded this distinction for his significant contributions to wireless and mobile networks. His areas of research include mobile computing, wireless communication, and the Internet of Things. Dr. Tseng is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He also served on the editorial boards of the following journals: the IEEE Trans. on Vehicular Technology, IEEE Trans. on Mobile Computing, IEEE Trans. on Parallel and Distributed Systems, and the IEEE Internet of Things Journal.

Newly elected members of TWAS and recipients of the TWAS Prize showcase both individual contributions as well as the contributions of their respective countries to the world of science.

TWAS now has more than 1,200 members hailing from 90 different countries. The fifty-five new TWAS Fellows were elected into membership on January 26, 2018. Of these new members, sixteen are women—making up an unprecedented 29% of the new class, the highest proportion of women ever elected to the Academy in a single year. A global science academy based in Italy, TWAS strives to achieve their main mission of promoting scientific excellence and the advancement of science in developing countries. The Academy works to support sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy and diplomacy.