Dr. Yafen Liu is a Senior Researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, a position she has held since January 2025. She received her Ph.D. in Nuclear Science and Technology from the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2008–2013), and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the School of Physical Science and Technology at Xinjiang University (2004–2008). Dr. Liu began her professional career as an Assistant Researcher at the same institute in 2013, was promoted to Associate Researcher in 2020, and advanced to Senior Researcher in 2025. Her research focuses on molten salt reactor conceptual design, fuel cycle and management, core reactivity control, transient operation safety, and multi-physics coupling methods for advanced nuclear systems. She is actively involved in China’s Thorium Molten Salt Reactor (TMSR) program and contributes to the development of next-generation nuclear energy technologies.