Moderator: Omar M. Yaghi
University of California, Berkeley, United States of America

This panel brings together Young Scientists from across the world to re-examine how research priorities are set, whose needs they reflect and whether we are missing important questions. Moving beyond research scopes shaped by a limited set of regions, the aim is to highlight overlooked challenges across diverse contexts, such as health, agriculture, climate resilience, energy systems, biodiversity, and social equity. It also probes disparities within regions, where certain topics and communities remain underrepresented. What critical questions are we overlooking, and how can global science become more distributed so that the questions we pursue truly reflect the full spectrum of societal needs?