YRI was founded by Ishan Jain, a Regeneron ISEF finalist and Conrad Challenge top-five finisher who has published in JAMA Cardiology and authored ten peer-reviewed papers presented at IEEE, ACM and Stanford. He started the YRI Fellowship to give students the same thing that changed his own path: a research question of their own, a mentor who has done it before, and a published paper.

This page covers who the YRI founder is, why he built YRI, how the program reflects his own experience, and how he works with families today.

Ishan Jain: the YRI founder at a glance

RoleFounder of the YRI Fellowship (Young Researchers Institute)
Science fair recordRegeneron ISEF finalist
CompetitionsConrad Challenge, top five worldwide
PublicationsPublished in JAMA Cardiology; author of ten peer-reviewed papers
Presented atIEEE, ACM and Stanford
YRI locationsSan Francisco and Bangalore
Featured inForbes India, Entrepreneur, Investing.com, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, SF Weekly

The founder's own path in research

Before college, Ishan was an ISEF finalist with a paper in JAMA Cardiology. He went on to finish in the top five worldwide at the Conrad Challenge and to author ten peer-reviewed papers, presented at IEEE, ACM and Stanford.

That path is the reason YRI exists. The research, the mentor and the publication changed his trajectory, and he started YRI to give students that same combination. YRI's program is built around the same path that worked for him and for YRI's Fellows since.

Why Ishan Jain started the YRI Fellowship

The mission on the About YRI page explains it in one idea: students who publish young do not have more talent than everyone else. They have access.

That access comes down to three things:

  1. A mentor who has done it before. Someone who knows how a research question becomes a paper.
  2. A process that holds the work to professional standards. Not graded against other students, but built to pass the same peer review working scientists face.
  3. Someone who will not let the paper die in a drawer. Many student projects end as a file on a laptop. YRI sees the paper through to publication.

YRI exists to put that within reach of any family serious enough to apply.

How the founder's experience shapes YRI today

Each part of the YRI Fellowship maps to what the founder learned works.

1:1 PhD mentorship, every week

Every Fellow is paired with a PhD mentor whose expertise matches the student's field, from machine learning and astrophysics to biology and public health. The weekly 1:1 session is the engine of the program. YRI's network includes more than 1,000 PhD mentors. Read more in YRI Fellowship mentors.

End to end, not advice

Most programs hand students a syllabus. YRI carries every Fellow from the first research question to a published paper. An editing team works on every draft, a publishing team submits to venues such as IEEE, Springer and Elsevier, and support continues at no cost until the paper is published.

Results anyone can look up

Every publication, competition title and admission YRI cites is verifiable at the source. Every published paper links to the publisher's own index, such as IEEE Xplore. See them on Published Work.

A team behind every Fellow

The founder is backed by a full-time team:

  • PhD mentors, matched by field: AI, medicine, physics, chemistry, economics, psychology and more
  • Research writers, who edit every paper to the standard a peer reviewer expects
  • Submission specialists, who pick the venue, handle the journal and conference process, and prepare the competition entry

What YRI has achieved under its founder

Under Ishan Jain, YRI has grown into a global research program:

  • 1,000+ students from 50+ countries
  • 87% of Fellows publish
  • 73% place at science competitions
  • Fellows published at IEEE, Springer and Elsevier venues
  • Fellows qualified for Regeneron ISEF
  • Fellows admitted to Brown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Caltech and Harvard

A few Fellows whose results you can read in full on Student Stories:

  • Sadaf S. came in with no research experience, published first author at an IEEE conference, and was admitted to Brown and Johns Hopkins.
  • Mubashir S. started with zero research experience and qualified for Regeneron ISEF 2026.
  • Aditya S. won Best Oral Presentation at an IEEE conference in Tokyo.
  • Devansh G. published first author at IEEE at 14 and built a 7-figure health-AI company.

The founder in the press

Ishan Jain and YRI have been covered by several outlets. Each article is linked from the YRI press page:

  • Forbes India (May 2026) profiled the founder and the global research ecosystem YRI is building across 50+ countries.
  • Investing.com covered how the YRI founder is turning curious teenagers into first-author researchers.
  • Entrepreneur (October 2026) wrote about how Fellows use AI to expand access to research while building the judgment to use it responsibly.
  • Yahoo Finance, via GlobeNewswire (July 2026), covered the launch of the Top 1% Profile.
  • Yahoo News, via WFTV (June 2026), reported on how the Fellowship pairs middle and high school students 1:1 with PhD mentors.
  • SF Weekly explained how research fellowship programs work, with YRI as the example.

How the founder works with YRI families

In the Research Fellowship, your child works week to week with a PhD mentor and YRI's editing and publishing teams.

In the Top 1% Profile, the founder is involved directly. It is YRI's 6 to 9 month program built for Ivy League admissions: 2 to 3 published papers in one field, a patent with your child's name on it, a company or nonprofit, and the full competition season. The founder works with each family personally, which is why it is limited to 8 families a year. After you apply, the process includes a 30-minute call with the founder, where you can ask anything.

Read more in our guide to the YRI Top 1% Profile.

What the founder's story means for your child

The founder's record points to a simple lesson for parents: the students who stand out are the ones who have done the work and can prove it. A first-author paper anyone can look up, a science fair entry judged by strangers, and a mentor letter from a PhD who watched them do it. Those are the pieces the YRI Fellowship is designed to produce.

Your child does not need to arrive with any of that. Most Fellows start with no research experience, no idea and no lab. Here is what the path looks like:

  • Apply in about 10 minutes. No essays, no fee.
  • Get a decision within 48 hours. A person reads every application.
  • Get matched with a PhD mentor in your child's field. Unlimited 1:1 sessions for 10 weeks.
  • Finish with a paper submitted to venues such as IEEE or Springer. Then prepare it for ISEF, JSHS and regional fairs.
  • Keep the help until it is published. Free, after week 10.

Tuition is $2,997, or 3 payments of $999, settled only after acceptance, with scholarships decided case by case. Our YRI Fellowship cost guide has the full breakdown, and the 10-week timeline shows what happens each week.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded YRI?

Ishan Jain founded the YRI Fellowship. He is a Regeneron ISEF finalist, a Conrad Challenge top-five finisher, and the author of ten peer-reviewed papers, with work published in JAMA Cardiology.

What does YRI stand for?

YRI stands for Young Researchers Institute, which does business as the YRI Fellowship. See what YRI stands for.

Why did Ishan Jain start YRI?

To give students what changed his own path: a research question of their own, a mentor who has done it before, and a published paper. YRI exists to put that access within reach of any family serious enough to apply.

Where is YRI based?

YRI is based in San Francisco and Bangalore, and works with students in more than 50 countries.

Does the founder work with students directly?

Yes, in the Top 1% Profile, where he works with each of the 8 families personally. Research Fellows work with their own PhD mentor and YRI's full-time team.

Is YRI legitimate?

Yes. Fellows' papers are on publisher indexes such as IEEE Xplore, outcomes are listed with names and venues, and prices and terms are public. Our guide to whether YRI is legit shows how to check it yourself.

Start where the founder started

A research question, a mentor and a published paper changed one student's path. The YRI Fellowship was built so your child can follow the same one. The application takes 10 minutes, has no fee, and you get a decision within 48 hours.

See the YRI Research Fellowship or compare both programs on the YRI pricing page.

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