The GYA is pleased to introduce its new member cohort, all of whom will be inaugurated at the opening of this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 30 June 2026 in Bremen, Germany.
The 33-member cohort includes representatives from 26 individual countries, from all GYA general disciplines, and comprises 11 females, 21 males and 1 who prefer not to say. Three new countries have been added to GYA’s approximately 100 countries around the world being represented: Chad, Malawi, and Cuba.
The overall gender ratio of the GYA is 92 female, 104 male, and 4 who prefer not to say.
Such gender balance in the GYA is a result of ongoing efforts to recruit excellent applicants regardless of gender.
The new members were selected by the GYA Membership Selection Committee, under the leadership of Committee Co-lead Luciana Balboa (Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y Sida, University of Buenos Aires-CONICET, Argentina) and Oscar Xavier Guerrero Gutiérrez (Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico).
Among other activities, the GYA acts as a facilitator and convenor for the growing global network of National Young Academies . The GYA is therefore delighted to see that a number of new members are also members of their respective country’s Young Academies.
Each of the new members’ applications was evaluated through peer review in multiple rounds, and were scored, first and foremost, based on the excellence of their scientific research, as well as on their demonstrated societal engagement.
Welcome all to the GYA!
Associate Professor / Mechanical Engineering
Adekunle is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, distinguished researcher, inventor, consultant, and academic leader. He currently serves as Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Nile University of Nigeria, within the Honoris United Universities Network. He obtained his B.Eng., M.Eng. (Distinction), and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
Senior Research Associate / Microbial Genomics
Akuzike is a clinician, medical microbiologist, and postdoctoral researcher in pneumococcal genomics. He earned his PhD in pathogen genomics from University College London, with advanced training in pneumococcal genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Aku is currently a Senior Research Associate at the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme (MLW) in Blantyre, Malawi.
Associate Professor / Hydrology
Ankit is an Associate Professor in the Department of Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR). He holds a PhD in Hydrology from the University of Potsdam Germany. His research interests encompass hydro-climatology, with a specific focus on climate patterns and extreme events. With a diverse background cultivated during his PhD, Ankit is dedicated to cutting-edge research, teaching, and institute internationalization at IITR.
Associate Professor / Manufacturing Engineering
Ankur is currently an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, India. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur, India, and served as a faculty at IIT Bhubaneswar before joining IIT Jodhpur in 2019. He has over 200 research contributions to his credit including peer review international journal papers, patents and books.
Senior Lecturer / Civil Engineering
Assia holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, and a Master’s and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the African University of Science and Technology. She was awarded the L’Oréal-UNESCO for women in science young talent prize for her post-doctoral research in 2022. She is an active member of numerous international and national professional societies, including the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD).
Diplomacy Specialist and Thematic Analyst / Science Diplomacy
Branislav is a science diplomacy specialist and international affairs analyst working at the intersection of anticipatory governance, emerging technologies, and humanitarian issues. Based in Argentina and originally from Serbia, he holds a PhD in International Relations and focuses on translating evidence into action under geopolitical uncertainty and power asymmetries.
Senior Lecturer / Hispanic Studies
Charles’ research focuses on Latin American indigenous languages and literatures. He combines the insights of Literary Studies, Linguistics and Anthropology to explore how indigenous authors engage with the natural environment. Charles is a Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Strathclyde, Quondam Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, and member of the UK Young Academy.
Professor / Physics & Artificial Intelligence
Clecio is a Professor and Technology Researcher at the Brazilian Center for Physics Research, where he leads the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence Applied to Physics (LAB-IA). His current work is focused on pushing the frontiers of AI in physics applications, including the inverse modelling with Neural Posterior Estimation and Physics-Informed Neural Networks.
Independent Researcher / Linguistics
Cristian is a linguist from Argentina dedicated to the documentation, description, and promotion of linguistic diversity. His work focuses on the languages and ethnolinguistic groups of South America, particularly in the highly biodiverse and multilingual Gran Chaco region. He has specialized in the study of the Mocoví language and society, working closely with community members to support language maintenance and revitalization.
Research Fellow / Climate Justice
Cyril is a researcher whose work examines the intersections of climate change, justice, and livelihoods, with a focus on riverine and flood-prone communities in Nigeria. Using a political economy lens, he investigates how governance, inequality, and environmental change shape vulnerability and resilience within the blue economy.
Nurse-Researcher / Global Health
Dejina is a nurse-researcher and policy analyst with extensive leadership experience in global health, medical education, and science policy. She currently works at the Policy Research Institute, a government think tank, where she leads multidisciplinary research to support evidence-informed public policy and provides technical input to the Office of the Prime Minister, ministries, and other government agencies.
Researcher / Nutritional Pharmacology and Epidemiology
Deniz is a philosopher of the formal sciences (AI, mathematics & logic) working at the intersections of epistemology, philosophy of language, ethics and cognition. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ethical Innovation Hub of the Universität zu Lübeck (Chair C. Herzog). His current work connects (hinge) epistemology with the ethics of the formal sciences, especially AI.
Professor / Digital Inequality
Diego is a researcher and professor specialising in digital inclusion, digital literacy, and media and communications. Drawing on experience across academia, government, NGOs and the private sector, he focuses on how people and institutions can use digital technologies to reduce inequalities and improve social outcomes.
Researcher / Parasitology & Zoonotic Diseases
Faham is an interdisciplinary scientist working at the interface of parasitology, zoonotic diseases, veterinary, and global health. Trained as a veterinarian and public health specialist, he holds a PhD in Parasitology and has completed postdoctoral research on Leishmania and hydatid cysts. He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications and multiple books.
Researcher / Anaerobic Pathogens
Grace’s career has been shaped by a deep commitment to ensuring that scientific discovery translates into tangible benefits particularly for people in low resource settings. From her early training as a medical scientist, she was drawn to the transformative impact that accurate diagnostics can have on patient outcomes.
Young Chief Professor / Renewable Energy Materials
Guixiang is a Young Chief Professor at Southeast University, China. He earned his Ph.D. from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin for Materials and Energy, Germany, followed by postdoctoral research at EPFL, Switzerland and Northwestern University, United States. His research focuses on functional semiconductor materials and optoelectronic devices.
Senior Research Officer / Remote Sensing
Hafsa is deeply involved in various projects, notably the Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) and NEXU Gains initiatives, both supported by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. These projects are geared towards augmenting capacity for water resource management at the provincial and district levels.
Researcher / AI & Communication Networks
Husam is a researcher and systems engineering advisor based in Budapest, Hungary. His work focuses on communication networks, artificial intelligence, and energy-efficient IoT systems. He holds a PhD in Computer Engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and an MSc in Electronics and Communication Engineering from China.
Researcher / Cardiometabolic Disease
Jose Luis is a medical researcher at the Autonomous University of Puebla, Mexico, and honorary research fellow at University College London. He completed his postgrad studies at the University of Glasgow and the University of Groningen, studying novel biomarkers of type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and is the head of the Digital Health Lab.
Associate Professor / Electronic Engineering
Lobna is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Nile University. She is the Director of the Microelectronics System Design Master Program and the former co-director of the Nanoelectronics Integrated System Design Research Center. She received her BSc, MSc, and PhD in electronics and electrical communications from Cairo University, Egypt.
Assistant Professor / Politics
Louise focuses on the societal dimensions of environmental and climate policy making. Her research draws on political science insights and scholarship on justice to develop understandings of how to develop more successful and just climate policies. She is currently leading three funded research projects and engages in multiple ongoing outreach activities.
Associate Professor / Law & Philosophy
Luka is an Associate Professor and Vice-Rector for Research at Alma Mater Europaea University, a Full Member and Vice-President of the Slovenian Academy of Legal Sciences. He is the Lead Researcher at the Global Peace Offensive Center of the World Academy of Art and Science and an Expert/Case-writer for Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression.
Senior Science Officer / Climate Change
Megha’s interdisciplinary research background lies in the interface between development and environmental change. She has also worked extensively on the interface of science and policy. She is currently a Senior Science Officer at the International Science Council and is responsible for the Council’s work on climate change policy, human development, science funding and enhancing the role of social sciences in sustainable development policies.
Researcher & Lecturer / Human Genetics
Mohamed is a molecular geneticist and lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania. His work focuses on advancing human genetics and genomic medicine in Africa through research, training, and policy engagement. He studies rare genetic diseases, cardiovascular genomics, and strategies for integrating genetic diagnostics into clinical care in low-resource settings.
Researcher & Lecturer / Human Genetics
Marta is a medical doctor specialized in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. Her experience combines clinical practice with international project management. Recently, she has served as user coordinator for the EU-funded research project NIGHTINGALE (Novel Integrated Toolkit for Enhanced Pre-Hospital Life Support and Triage in Challenging and Large Emergencies).
Principal Investigator / Neuroscience and Organoids
Mubeen is the Principal Investigator of the Stem Cell Modelling of Development and Disease Group in the Department of Human Biology and the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cape Town. Mubeen received his BSc in Genetics and Microbiology and his Honours and MSc degrees in Medical Cell Biology from the University of Cape Town.
Researcher & Lecturer / Human Genetics
Ogochukwu is a Lecturer of Health Promotion at La Trobe University and a global health and development scholar specializing in gender and health with a strong focus on decolonial and feminist approaches to health. Her interdisciplinary research addresses health inequities, gender and inclusion, and policy impact in global maternal health.
Postdoctoral Fellow / Cognitive Neuroscience
Phivos is currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Nevada, Reno and the Cyprus University of Technology. He obtained his BSc in Psychology from Frederick University in 2019, where he graduated as the Valedictorian. In 2023, he received his PhD from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at the Cyprus University of Technology.
Associate Professor / Medical Microbiology
Raspail is the Vice-Dean in charge of Research and Cooperation, Scientific Coordinator of the Doctoral School (Dschang School of Health and Life Sciences), and an Associate Professor in Medical Microbiology at the University of Dschang, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, within the Department of Microbiology, Hematology, and Immunology.
Professor / Financial and Economic Law
Reynier is a jurist and Full Professor of Financial and Economic Law at Oriente University. Recognized as Cuba’s youngest PhD in 2020 and awarded the “Ignacio Agramonte” National Juridical Research Prize, his work bridges constitutional theory and distributive justice. He is the author of four widely cited books and leads national research on tax governance for innovation.
Researcher / Artificial Intelligence
Rishemjit is a Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR–Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, India, and an Associate Professor at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research. With over a decade of expertise in artificial intelligence and natural language processing, her research focuses on low-resource languages, agriculture, and food systems.
Assistant Professor / Energy Resources Engineering
Rita is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University, specializing in the application of oil and gas skills and techniques to address challenges associated with low-carbon energy technologies. She earned her PhD in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford University, where she also had her postdoctoral training.
Assistant Professor / Biotechnology
Tariq is an interdisciplinary researcher working at the interface of nanoscience, biotechnology, and nanomaterial-cell interactions. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Biotechnology and a former Fulbright Scholar. He completed his doctoral training in nanoscience and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Duke University, where his work focused on the interaction of nanomaterials with biological systems.