The Global Young Academy is pleased to welcome 45 new members to its ranks! All new members will be inaugurated at the opening of this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 10 June 2025.
The GYA new member cohort includes representatives from 32 individual countries, from all GYA general disciplines, and comprises 23 females, 21 males and 1 non-binary. Two new countries have been added to GYA’s approximately 100 countries around the world being represented: Bolivia and Bulgaria.
The overall gender ratio of the GYA is now 102 female, 95 male, 1 non-binary and 2 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 Alma Cristal Hernández Mondragón (Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico) and Co-lead Éva Dékány (Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics), as well as GYA Co-Chair Yensi Flores Bueso (University College Cork, Ireland; University of Washington in Seattle, United States).Â
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 – or in leadership positions in – 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!
Assistant Professor / Humanities and Social Sciences
Alexandra has a B.A. in Southeast European Studies, an M.A. in International Relations and a PhD in Modern and Contemporary History. She completed further studies in Greece, Turkey, France, Switzerland, Kenya and the United States. Before switching to academia, she was involved in international project and event management in the private sector. Alexandra is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a councilor of EUROPEANA Network Association and a member of DARIAH-EU. She has received several awards for young scholars for her outstanding achievements in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Assistant Professor / Animal Genomics
Małgorzata is an Assistant Professor at the University of Montreal. Her research focuses on applying genetics and genomics to understand how biological traits are encoded in the genome and how specific genes mediate phenotypic traits. She has served as an eLife Ambassador, an officer for the Polonium Foundation, and an Early Career Leader at the Genetics Society of America. She is currently an Assistant Preprint Editor for Proceedings of Royal Society B. In 2022, she was awarded the DeLill Nasser Award for Professional Development in Genetics.
Lecturer / Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering
Anna is a lecturer and researcher at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, specializing in hydrology and water resources. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pretoria, supported by the Carnegie Corporation, where she led a team developing a machine learning-based early warning system for droughts in Tanzania. Anna has received several prestigious awards, including the One Planet Laureate (AWARD), OWSD Early Career Fellowship, and the Future Africa Research Leaders Fellowship. With her expertise in agricultural water management, she collaborates with rural farmers to improve water use efficiency and implement best management practices.
Senior Researcher / Climate
Borgar has worked at CICERO, a multidisciplinary climate research institute in Oslo, Norway, since 2010. His main area of academic expertise is on emission metrics and nearby themes such as emissions, mitigation, and emission scenarios. He has wide experience with both academic and commissioned research and likes to work on interdisciplinary teams and communicate science in multiple ways. Borgar is a member of the Young Academy of Norway until 2027. He earned a PhD in meteorology and climate at the University in Oslo.
Senior Advisor / Policy and International Programs
Daniel is a science policy expert specializing in international research collaboration, research integrity, and STEM education. He serves as Senior Advisor for Policy & International Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, balancing international cooperation and research security in emerging technologies. Previously, he was an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Defense and an Embassy Science Fellow at U.S. Embassy Tokyo. He is the founder of STEM for Development.
Assistant Professor / Medicine and health
Elena is an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, and an Adjunct Professor at the Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Synthetic and Functional Genomics. Elena conducted her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Toronto, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Goodman Cancer Institute. Her main research area is integrative synthetic and functional genomics, focusing on complex genetic interaction networks.
Assistant Professor / Civil Engineering
Élise is an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at Queen’s University, Canada. Her research focus is the impact of climate change in permafrost environments, and her work aims to improve our predictive capacity and understanding of drivers of change in these systems. She works with Northern communities, bringing together interdisciplinary teams through modelling, laboratory study, and fieldwork to try to solve real-world problems facing people who live in cold regions.
Senior Research Scientist / Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Emelda is a Medical Microbiologist, Senior Research Scientist, and Head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research. With over a decade of expertise in infectious disease epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance, she has significantly advanced AMR surveillance and One-Health research, addressing microbial diversity, disease transmission, and host-pathogen interactions. Passionate about health policy advocacy, she works to bridge the science-policy gap.
Senior Lecturer, Researcher, Scholar / Laws & Human RightsÂ
Erick is a practising lawyer and academic/researcher, and Listed Counsel of the African Court of Human & Peoples’ Rights. He serves as the Ombudsman for Amnesty International, Kenya, and is a Member of Tax Appeals Tribunal, where he adjudicates cases on tax law and administration. He also Chairs the TAT Committee on Trainings, Capacity Building & Resource Mobilisation & is Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Egerton University. Erick also serves as Visiting Lecturer at Strathmore Law School.
Insect Ecologist / Plant Sciences
Xavier is an insect ecologist studying biocontrol of microbes against fungi, whose Master’s degree in Plant Sciences focused on the effects of plant quality on densities/sizes of insects at three trophic levels. He led a research unit on the management of tropical crop pests and a laboratory of insects diagnotics in Ecuador. Xavier’s PhD focused on the use of soil-beneficial organisms to control root herbivores, while his postdoc examined the use of plant combinations to control maize pests in smallholder farms in Kenya. Xavier also participated in the GYA’s first Science Leadership Programme for Latin America and The Caribbean.
Researcher / Nutritional Pharmacology and Epidemiology
Guy is a dedicated scientist specializing in nutrition, diabetes, and pharmacology, with a strong focus on non-communicable diseases and their management in low- and middle-income countries. Based in Cameroon, he leverages his expertise in pharmacology and nutrition to explore nature-based therapeutic strategies. As an early career researcher, he actively contributes to advancing global health through interdisciplinary research and collaboration. His work integrates food security, epidemiology, and implementation science.
Research Fellow / Education
Duc Hoang is a Research Fellow at RMIT University Vietnam. With a PhD in educational leadership, Harvard CSML certification, and 25 scholarly publications, he bridges research and practice in education. He is also a Fellow of the UNESCO Chair on Technology and Engineering Education for Children and Youth, a Grand Award Judge of Regeneron ISEF 2024, Board Member of the Global Young Vietnamese Scholars Network, is on the Seasoner Advisory Board for British Council Vietnam, and a Community Lead for Asia & Southeast Asia of the HundrED. He also serves as an editorial member of several academic journals.
Research Fellow / Electrochemistry
Kassa received his PhD in Material Engineering and Nano-sciences from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Currently, he is a Research Fellow at Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Italy, where he conducts research, advises Master and PhD students, and teaches various courses. His research focuses on controllable synthesis and development of novel materials for electrocatalysis in green energy production and synchrotron-based characterizations.
Associate professor / Pharmaceutical Science
Khandmaa earned a Bachelor’s degree in biotechnology at Mongolian International University, and completed Master’s and Doctoral studies in tissue engineering at Dankook University, South Korea. While doing postdoctoral work, Khandmaa was awarded project grants from Mongolia’s leading pharmaceutical company, Monos Group, which led her to subsequently return to her homeland as Head of R&D in Monos Group, and CEO of Inno Hub Mongolia, where she is dedicated to supporting science-based startups.
Assistant Professor / Climate Sustainability
Woon is a researcher and educator committed to fostering transformative resilience in climate sustainability. Named a 2023 I&ECR Class of Influential Researcher by the American Chemical Society, his research has been highlighted in Future Earth, The Guardian, and Anthropocene Magazine. Before his academic career, Woon led green architectural initiatives for townships in Malaysia and Indonesia. His community empowerment efforts include partnerships with the U.S. Department of State, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Germany, and AMATI, Indonesia. Woon holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Postdoctoral researcher / Microbiology
Kossi is a postdoctoral researcher in microbiology at the University of Abomey-Calavi. His work focuses on antibacterial discovery, anti-infective strategies, and One Health-based antimicrobial resistance control. With 44 papers, 40 conference communications, 28 awards, 25 fellowships, and 16 projects, he won the Best Young Beninese Researcher Award (2022). Kossi is a fellow of the Africa Science Leadership Programme, a Young Ambassador for the American Society for Microbiology, Next Einstein Forum Ambassador in Benin, AREF-MRC Towards Leadership fellow (Cohort 3), and an ESCMID local champion in Benin.
Assistant Professor / Anthropology
With a dual PhD in Environmental Sciences and Anthropology from Yale University, Luisa is an interdisciplinary environmental anthropologist, interested in how people understand their natural environment—particularly water—when it becomes disastrous. Currently in a tenured professorial position at the International Institute of Social Studies, she aims to strengthen the study of environmental knowledge as a key factor for adaptation to water disasters, in particular floods and drinking water contamination.
Researcher / Infectious Diseases
Luria is on a mission to improve maternal and neonatal health in Africa. She holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Microbiology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and is a clinical microbiologist with over 10 years experience on antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases. She is currently the head of research within the Research Institute of the Centre of Expertise and Biological Diagnostic of Cameroon, holds a Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at BforCure, France, and also serves as an advisory member for the World Health Organization Foodborne Diseases Epidemiology Reference Group.
Advisor for Sustainability / Global Health Security & Diplomacy
Luz is an Advisor for Sustainability at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, where she supports global HIV/AIDS initiatives through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). During her AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship, she contributed to U.S.-Mexico global health policy at the State Department and advanced Arab-Israeli scientific collaboration at USAID. She is a founding member of the Science Diplomacy Network in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Senior Lecturer / High Value Manufacturing
Manuela is a Senior Lecturer in High-Value Manufacturing at Loughborough University. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Chartered Engineer, Member of the IMechE and an MPDS IMechE Mentor. She holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Nottingham and a Master’s in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Bari (Italy) achieved with summa cum laude. After being awarded her PhD, Manuela worked as Application Development Engineer and Advanced Manufacturing Research Engineer for multinational companies such as 3M in Milan (Italy) and Element Six (Harwell Campus, United Kingdom).
Associate Professor / Neuropsychology
Marietta is an Associate Professor in neuropsychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Additionally, she is an Affiliated Investigator at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens. Her work focuses on handedness and brain lateralization, but her research interests encompass various aspects of neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, educational neuroscience, and experimental psychology. Marietta is also interested in meta-science, particularly in systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Furthermore, she is a member of the Psychological Science Accelerator (PSA), where she has served as an Assistant Director for the Ethics Review Committee. She has a keen interest in science outreach.
Senior Researcher / Biology (Limnology)
Martin is an ecologist at TIWAG and a Senior Researcher at BOKU University. His research and teaching in the field of limnology (freshwater science) include ecological approaches, taxonomy and biogeography (macroinvertebrates and fish), using conventional and molecular approaches. Marting contributes to river science, using ecohydraulics and biodiversity as a key for sustainable management and planning processes on catchment scale, linking basic ecosystem-oriented and applied research. Martin received his Master of Science in 2007 and his PhD in 2010 from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and obtained the venia docendi in limnology at BOKU University in 2020.
Researcher / Public Health
Mbuzeleni is a public health researcher specializing in HIV prevention and treatment. He is a Senior Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council and an Honorary Lecturer in Public Health Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His work focuses on improving linkage to HIV care, PrEP access, and self-testing strategies, particularly among men in South Africa. He is an Academic Editor for BMC Health Services Research and a Guest Editor for Frontiers in Public Health and the HIV Care Collection.
Assistant Professor / Energy and Process Engineering
Meriem is an Assistant Professor at Hassan 1st University (Morocco), where she delivers lectures on various topics related to energy and process engineering. She earned her PhD in Solar Thermal Energy Systems in 2021 from the Mohammadia School of Engineering (Rabat, Morocco). Her research focuses on CSP technologies, including the development of the world’s first bench-scale parabolic trough solar dryer for phosphate sludge, and she has published several reference and impactful articles in this field.
Associate Professor / Materials Science
Mojtaba is an Associate Professor of Functional Materials and Energy Devices, specializing in developing sustainable and cost-effective materials for renewable energy technologies. His research focuses on advanced photovoltaics, energy systems for carbon capture, and solar fuels. Mojtaba has led numerous international projects, collaborated with leading research groups, and translated his work into impactful products through spinouts and industrial partnerships. He actively promotes science communication and EDI, inspiring the next generation of scientists. As a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he is dedicated to advancing research, education, and innovation for a net-zero future.
Academic / Public Health
Mutshidzi champions public health strategies that prioritize mental health. She is part of the pioneering team instrumental in establishing the first Division of Public Health at the University of Free State, where she was involved in the international comparability of the public health programs. Formerly a Visiting Scholar in the Beaver College of Health Sciences at Appalachian State University, United States, she is recognised globally by Novartis as one of 10 Reimagining Healthcare Scholars (2023). She is a recipient of the South African Health Excellence Award, Zenith Global Health Award and Leadership Luminary Award.
Director / Biotechnology
Natalia is a biotechnologist with a PhD in biological sciences, specializing in bioactive molecules, soft matter, and STEM education. She is the Director of the Biotechnology program at Universidad Católica Boliviana and an advocate for scientific dissemination and technological development in Bolivia. Passionate about teaching, she has received multiple awards for her contributions to education and research. She actively promotes biotechnology in industry and academia, developing innovative projects in pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, and bioeconomy. Outside academia, she enjoys CrossFit, running marathons, reading, and good food.
Assistant Professor / Materials Science & Engineering
Needa is an Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She completed her PhD at the University of Oklahoma in 2017 and her post-doctoral training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In September 2021, she moved to Northeastern University as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Physics, where she was the Founder and Director of the Master’s in Nanomedicine program and served as Assistant Director of the NCI-funded CaNCURE program. Her research is centered around understanding and leveraging material-biological interactions to design next-generation nanomaterials to tackle cancer and infectious diseases.
Lecturer / Cancer and Molecular BiologyÂ
Nourhan began her career in Egypt with a Bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and a teaching role at Cairo University. Her Master’s research at the National Cancer Institute focused on miRNA-124 and FOXA2 in liver cancer. In 2018, she received a DAAD scholarship to pursue a PhD at University Hospital Münster, Germany, investigating syndecan-1’s role in breast cancer radioresistance, resulting in multiple publications and awards. After her PhD, she worked on the BIOMET4D project in Translational Matrix Biology team at University Hospital Cologne.
Researcher / Chemistry and Computer Science
Oscar is the co-president of the Mexican Young Academy and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemistry at Cinvestav, Mexico, where he develops Python-based tools to integrate Machine Learning into computational chemistry research. His current work focuses on applying these methods to the study of chemical reactivity, making complex computational techniques more accessible and efficient for chemists.
Instructor / Environmental Medicine
Piyush is an Instructor in Environmental Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. A biophotonics researcher and science policy advocate, he specializes in Raman spectroscopy, exposomics and environmental health. He earned his PhD from Tata Memorial Centre ACTREC, India, focusing on Raman-based oral cancer progression markers. His postdoctoral work at Mount Sinai explored biophotonic tools for long-term environmental exposure and early markers in children.
Senior Lecturer / Computer Science
After completing his PhD, Reuben spent several years working in a non-academic environment. Although his academic career path has been non-linear, these experiences have provided him with unique insights and a broadened perspective and he is committed to advancing the goals of the GYA and contributing to global academic dialogue.
Researcher / Psychology
Rima-Maria received a PhD from Leiden University for her work on cognitive decision processes in social and moral dilemmas, which she completed at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods in Bonn, Germany. After positions in Frankfurt, Tilburg, Bonn, and Heidelberg, she is now a researcher at Vienna University of Economics and Business. She is active in Open Science, an alumna of the Fellowship Program Free Knowledge, and a former member of the steering group of the German Reproducibility Network.
Lecturer and Researcher / Computer Science
Roseline is a distinguished computer scientist, researcher, and lecturer at Landmark University, Nigeria. She is a postdoctoral fellow at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa, and a PhD scholar at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. Recognized among the Top 2% of Scientists Globally (2023, 2024) by Elsevier and Stanford University, she specializes in Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, and Medical Image Processing. A recipient of multiple awards, including the Deep Learning Indaba 2024 Cash Award and Elsevier Certificate of Recognition, she serves on the editorial boards of Cancer Control, CMC, and Digital Health.
Researcher / Veterinary Epidemiology
Ryota is a researcher at the National Institute of Animal Health, Japan, specializing in animal health. His research focuses on infectious disease epidemiology in livestock and wildlife, outbreak control, and wildlife population health. He collaborates on projects across Asia and Africa to enhance animal health. His institution is a Collaborating Centre of the World Organization for Animal Health. Since 2024, he has been a member of the Young Academy of the Science Council of Japan and serves as a board member of several veterinary organizations in East Asia, contributing to advancements in livestock management, wildlife conservation, and the One Health approach.
Senior Scientist / Hydrogen Energy
Santosh is a Senior Scientist at CSIR-CIMFR, a TEDx Speaker, and Educator with expertise in 2D Materials, Hydrogen Energy, Catalysis, Coal, Batteries, and Supercapacitors. With 100+ publications, he has led projects funded by national & international agencies, including the European Union and bilateral programs across the United States, France, Russia, Sweden, Israel, and more. A recipient of awards such as the INSA Fellowship, DST Young Scientist Award, BRICS Young Scientist Award, and IUPAC Junior Researcher Award.
Professor / AI, Machine Learning, Medicine, Healthcare
Shadi is a Palestinian-German Professor of Computational Medical Imaging Research at the University of Bonn, Germany, and an AI Young Investigator Group Leader at Helmholtz AI. He served as a Steering Committee member at the Arab-German Young Academy from 2022 to 2023 and currently serves as a Steering Committee member at the Global Health Research Alliance for the 2024 to 2026 term. Previously, Shadi worked as a Visiting Scientist at Imperial College London and ETH Zurich, and as a Senior Research Scientist & Team Lead at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. He has authored over 120 publications, including a notable paper in Nature Machine Intelligence.
Researcher / Environmental Science
Sinikiwe is a soil scientist interested in agriculture and the environment. She has a Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from Institut Pertanian Bogor, Indonesia, through the Kemitraan Negara Berkembang (KNB) program, and a PhD in Soil Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Sinikiwe was a lecturer and programs coordinator at Women’s University in Africa before becoming a permanent lecturer at Marondera University of Agricultural Science and Technology, Zimbabwe.
Lecturer and Researcher / Medicine and Health
Solange is a postdoctoral researcher at Universidad de San Martin de Porres and a part-time lecturer at Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (Peru). She holds a PhD in cancer immunotherapy and an M.Sc. in molecular medicine, graduated with Merit from University College London (United Kingdom). Solange is a member of the ISC Global Roster of Experts, the UKRI International Development Peer Review College, and DiploCientifica. She is also the founder of DiploCiencia.
Assistant Professor / Bioinformatics
Syed is a Bioinformatics Professor at NUMS, Pakistan, with 11 years of expertise in microbial genomics and drug design. A CNPq-TWAS Scholar, he earned his PhD in Brazil, focusing on genome-based drug target identification. His work spans vaccine design, AMR awareness, and STEM education. He leads the Green Youth Movement at NUMS and advocates for science policy and plant conservation. As a reviewer and consultant for scientific bodies, he actively shapes bioinformatics research, bridging theory with real-world applications in drug discovery and vaccine development.
Adjunct professor / Renewable Energy
Thiago earned his Chemistry degree from the Federal University of Goiás and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from UFSCar, with research at Palacky University. He specialized in sustainable heterogeneous catalysts for biomass recovery. After a postdoc at CERSUSCHEM (UFSCar), he joined Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in 2018, founding the Biomass Catalysis and Valorization Group. He is vice coordinator of UFF’s Chemistry program and a CNPq fellow, and he is engaged in sustainability initiatives.
Researcher / Peace and Conflict Studies
Viviana is a Senior Researcher at the Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institute (ABI) in Freiburg and an Associate at the Institute of Latin American Studies at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA). She completed a PhD in Political Science with a focus on peace and conflict studies at the Philipps University of Marburg (summa cum laude) and as part of the GIGA Doctoral Programme. Her research interests span many topics at the intersection of peace and conflict studies and international relations, including political violence, security policies, contentious politics, peace and conflict transformation, with a regional emphasis on Latin America.
Postdoctoral Researcher / Biomedical Science
Waheba specializes in DNA repair, genome stability, cancer biology, and neurodegenerative disorders. With a PhD in Biomedical Sciences (Medical Genetics & Genomics) from Zewail City, Egypt, Waheba has completed postdocs in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Egypt. By engaging her passion for interdisciplinary collaboration, Waheba aims to advance precision medicine through research in genomic instability, cancer, and neurodegeneration.
Senior Specialist / EnvironmentÂ
Yolanda is an Indigenous Maya woman from Mexico and a science diplomat, working on the social dimensions of nature conservation. Her career spans both natural and social sciences, focusing on the science-society-policy interface. She has worked for academic and non-academic organizations, achieving high-level results in diplomatic environments across various social issues and scientific fields, including UNESCO, UNPFII, CBD, ICCROM, IPBES, and IUCN, fostering debates on how science (both Western and Indigenous) can build trust between nations and support foreign policies.
Researcher, Surgeon / Immunology
Yunjie is a liver surgeon and immunologist who has been awarded the DAAD Postdoctoral Fellowship twice. He has presided over 12 scientific research and talent projects (4 at the national level) and participated in 10 (9 at the national level). He has published over 50 papers, including in journals such as BLOOD, HEPATOLOGY, and REDOX BIOLOGY. He was once the representative of “Outstanding Chinese Doctoral Students”, visited the United States for three years, and studied in Germany for one year.