Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Head of Science Steve Quake interviewed CZ Biohub Network Vice President Amy E. Herr and Stellar Science Foundation Founder/Representative Director Takanori Takebe about the new Global Science Scholars Program. Their conversation has been edited for clarity.

Steve Quake: Science is an international endeavor, and we need the best minds working on discovery science to accomplish our ambitious mission to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of this century. The Biohub Network and Stellar Science Foundation are partnering on the Global Science Scholars program, a fellowship exchange for postdocs to grow their careers and conduct groundbreaking science in the U.S. and Japan.

This program will bring together talented early-career scientists and creative faculty to tackle high-risk bioengineering and biomedical research. We want to help familiarize early-career researchers with how science is done in other countries and promote collaboration across borders. Even as a young organization, the Biohub Network has an amazing track record of harnessing the potential of the nine universities we work with* and of their creative and entrepreneurial faculty members, and we’re excited to expand the Network with this international collaboration.

Why is the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub starting a Global Science Scholars program? Can you speak about the community you’re hoping to build?

Amy E. Herr: CZI’s north star to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases is audacious, and collaboration is central to navigating towards this north star. That audacious goal demands that many of us work together. This fellowship enlists other organizations who are also thrilled by this challenge and humbled by the opportunity to help improve the quality of life for people and our world.

The Biohub Network is built on the belief that collaboration should be across generations, institutions, fields, and geographies. We want to act as a conduit to bring people together to work with each other in ways that might not happen otherwise. For this program, we’re looking for researchers who understand the power of ideas coming from anywhere around the world and who want to challenge themselves by working across disciplines and cultures to learn the best elements of how science is done.

Takanori Takebe: The Stellar Science Foundation (SS-F) was established in 2021 by myself and like-minded colleagues who share a belief in the untapped potential of Japan’s science and technology fields. We also share a common vision of driving continuous innovations from Japan that will change the world.

The foundation aims to create a “trusted” global scientific community where researchers can freely share ideas and collaborate beyond the boundaries of nations and disciplines. We aspire to provide an environment where researchers can regularly experience serendipitous encounters—interactions with other researchers, engineers, startup entrepreneurs, and people from diverse backgrounds that lead to new discoveries and inventions.

Ultimately, through such a community, we aim to make the social impact of science more visible and maximize its potential to address global challenges. This program represents the first step in this journey.

What do you hope the impact of this fellowship will be?

Herr: Great ideas emerge at the interface of fields: an interface that sparks uncommon ways of thinking about science. We hope the research undertaken by fellows spurs new approaches to understanding biology and disease that help us get closer to achieving our mission. Something CZI does really well is create and support “common-good” resources like cell atlases, software tools, and preprint servers. Scientific communities themselves are, of course, a critical common-good resource, and a resource that will be enhanced by the Global Science Scholars program.

These postdocs, who are just starting their independent careers, will have the chance to work with established, leading researchers to take on hard problems together, which is an awesome way to make science happen. Along with the scientific outputs, I’m excited for the enduring relationships that will be built between students and the researchers, and the institutions that host them. Building these communities has a compounding impact.

Takebe: Reflecting on my own life, I recognize that every scientific turning point has been marked by a kind of significant encounter, and I hear this sentiment echoed by many other accomplished scientists. I firmly believe that this program will provide similar experiences for the young researchers it supports.

By immersing themselves in different countries, cultures, and research environments, participants will be exposed to diverse values and ideas, as well as the chance to engage in interdisciplinary collaborations. These experiences can enhance the quality of their research, provide opportunities for future joint projects, and broaden their career options.

We also aim to establish the foundation of a vibrant and diverse network of international researchers. This fellowship contributes to the creation of a truly global research community where the concept of “borders” in science becomes less relevant. It is within a borderless community of researchers that groundbreaking outcomes capable of addressing global challenges can emerge.

Dr. Takebe, what was it like to establish your lab in the U.S. as an early-career researcher and do science in another country?

Takebe: Establishing my own research lab in the United States at the age of 28 was an experience full of challenges and learning opportunities. My journey in research began with a passion for discovering new treatments for liver diseases, and I have since built my career in the field of transplant medicine. My work in Japan was recognized when, in 2013, I published a study on creating three-dimensional “liver organoids” from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. After taking an adjunct faculty position in Hiro Nakauchi’s lab at Stanford University, I was able to transition to my own independent lab at Cincinnati Children’s.

Cincinnati Children’s is one of the top-ranked pediatric hospitals in the United States and home to the world’s largest research facility attached to a pediatric hospital. Its legacy of innovation in pediatric medicine includes the development of the polio vaccine, the inception of teratology, surfactant therapy in neonates, and now organoid technology, among others. Becoming independent in such an environment brought immense responsibility but also offered a unique opportunity to freely pursue my ideas and take on new challenges. In Japan, even becoming an Assistant Professor rarely allows researchers the autonomy to pursue their own research. Perhaps more important is the exposure to highly collaborative environments that Cincinnati Children’s strives to offer. Starkly contrasting from Japan’s scientific environments, individual efforts often are easily synergized with the centralized lab resources, ample learning resources, and the collaborative achievements of others. I also hold a faculty position in Japan as a cross-appointment mainly focused on translational research, and have learned many complements to the U.S.-based system. The Global Science Scholars program provides a unique opportunity for the applicants to learn more!

I want to emphasize the value of stepping outside one’s familiar environment to adopt a fresh perspective and reassess one’s situation from a different angle. This mindset of “thinking outside the box” is essential in a research career. This program aims to provide young researchers with precisely such opportunities—enabling them to reflect on their own paths, consider how to advance their careers, and explore how their research can benefit society.

What are some key traits or areas of expertise you are looking for in fellowship candidates? What might make candidates a good fit?

Herr: I love that “thinking outside the box,” but doing it together! That’s exactly who we are looking for—people who are excited to be in situations that are not routine for them, and who would welcome moving to an unfamiliar country and culture. We’re of course looking for people who are doing great science and engineering, and who are really interested in translating ideas and impact out of their labs and into the world, which could mean entrepreneurship or clinical studies.

That’s today’s zeitgeist, what are better ways of doing science? We want researchers who are interested in experimenting, iterating, and learning; who will join with other scientists and a wide range of stakeholders, including patients, to make a mark in terms of improving conditions for humanity. We’ll pair these fellows with great mentors who will help shepherd them through this pivotal early-career stage. We are in this together.

What kinds of science will these fellows undertake?

Herr: One of our key hypotheses to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases is that new tools are needed. We’ve seen monumental advances in our understanding of disease because of advancements like single-cell sequencing, CRISPR, and high-resolution imaging modalities like cryo-electron tomography. The Biohub Network is focused on developing the capabilities we need for the long haul—our hundred-year goal. And so fellows will focus on disciplines ranging from the pure biological sciences to biomedical engineering.

I’m so excited that this program will be part of Japan’s Global Startup Campus Initiative. Dr. Takebe, can you talk a bit more about that and how it ties into this fellowship?

Takebe: The Global Startup Campus, or GSC, initiative promoted by the Cabinet Office of Japan is driven by the mission to establish a hub for a world-class innovation ecosystem. The GSC emphasizes assembling outstanding researchers and companies to form an ecosystem that considers commercialization possibilities from the early stages of research, which resonates strongly with the vision the Stellar Science Foundation aspires to achieve.

As part of the GSC, a program was proposed to send early-career Japanese researchers to leading research institutions in the U.S., and the foundation’s extensive global network and experience in conducting international fellowship programs led to a successful application for the Cabinet Office’s call for proposals—leading to the Global Science Scholars fellowship. We’re excited for this program to advance our mission to promote international exchange in science and technology and create an environment where young researchers can thrive on a global stage.

*The nine partner universities in the CZ Biohub Network are Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University, The Rockefeller University, and Yale University.