A wave of premature deaths among Chinese scientists has triggered fresh scrutiny of the country’s academic work culture as pressure mounts to deliver rapid technological breakthroughs. 

One database has documented at least 76 researchers under the age of 60 who have died so far this year, compared with 44 across the whole of last year, the .

The figure is based on a decade-long compilation of publicly reported cases, including suicides, with some of the deaths occurring at the country’s leading institutions.

Earlier this year, 35-year-old Zhejiang University researcher Du Dongdong collapsed and died on campus, while 47-year-old Liu Yongfeng, also a researcher at Zhejiang, died from a cerebral haemorrhage. The latter’s wife later posted a letter saying he had worked “at a breakneck pace for 18 years”, logging 319 workdays between March 2024 and January 2025, when the legal limit for that period was 183 days.

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Last year, Nanjing University scientist Dong Sijia died at age 33, and Xiangtan University recently commemorated professor Liu Haolin following his sudden death at 37.

Tau Yang, research analyst at the China Strategic Risks Institute, told ����Vlog that researchers in China “often face systemic pressure such as relentless workloads, bureaucratic promotion battles and fierce competition for funding, and it is not rare for these pressures to take a toll on their health”.

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He added that although reform “has surfaced in Beijing’s policy agenda almost every year”, China’s “increasingly intense technological arms race against Western rivals means the burden on young researchers only continues to deepen”.

Futao Huang, professor at the Research Institute for ����Vlog at Hiroshima University, said: “Based on the emerging – but still incomplete – data, the recent cluster of premature deaths among Chinese researchers appears to reflect more than isolated tragedies.

“While the total numbers are small relative to China’s vast research workforce, the concentration of cases among scholars in their thirties and forties, and within similar high-intensity environments, suggests a worrying pattern aligned with long-standing structural pressures.”

He said China’s drive for technological self-reliance in areas such as AI, semiconductors and advanced materials “has intensified workload expectations”, with age-limited talent schemes, milestone-driven national projects and promotion systems tightly tied to publication and grant output all creating “a culture of chronic overwork”.

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Heavy administrative responsibilities further heightened the strain, he added. 

“These mechanisms magnify pressures that exist globally, but in China they are compressed into shorter timelines with stronger penalties for falling behind,” Huang said.

Recent studies have echoed these concerns. A paper published last May in  found that, despite a nationwide decline in suicide rates over recent decades, “academic environments experienced a worrying increase in suicides”.

The authors concluded that the cases reflect “systemic issues within the academic and socio-political environment”, and said a “public health response that enhances our understanding of root causes and informs targeted interventions is urgently needed”. 

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Huang added: “If this environment persists, the long-term risks include weakened research continuity, reduced capacity for original innovation, and declining attractiveness of scientific careers.”

tash.mosheim@timeshighereducation.com

• For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit . In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at .