67 members selected from across disciplines to provide voice for change in new UK-wide Young Academy.
UK and Ireland National Academies have announced the first members of the new UK-wide Young Academy – a network of early career researchers and professionals established to help tackle local and global issues and promote meaningful change.
We are very proud to support the UK Young Academy as it welcomes its first cohort, nine of whom are from Scotland.
This marks an important achievement for the new members, and is a vital step for the next generation of researchers and professionals who will drive progress in tackling many of today’s complex challenges.
Research and discussion among early career researchers, collaborating across disciplines, will increase the chances of finding innovative solutions to these challenges. I look forward to hearing fresh thoughts and new ideas as the Academy develops its priorities.”
The UK Young Academy’s first cohort brings together members from across academia, charity organisations and the private sector, to galvanise their skills, knowledge, and experience to find innovative solutions to the challenges facing societies now and in the future. Members are from across the UK and Ireland, with 13% from Scotland, 7% from Wales, 5% from Northern Ireland and 75% from across areas in England. 49% of the cohort are women, and 34% are from minority ethnic backgrounds.
The successful candidates include researchers, innovators, clinicians, professionals and entrepreneurs who have each made significant contributions to their field, while going above and beyond to make an impact outside of their main areas of work.
The first cohort of the UK Young Academy will have the opportunity to shape the strategy and focus of this new organisation, tapping into their collective knowledge and expertise to inform local and global policy discussions.
Strategic themes and objectives will be determined by members based on areas that matter to them. Discussions on their key priorities will kick off at an induction event held at the Royal Society in January 2023 and will be finalised over the coming year – members have already expressed interest in areas from climate change and sustainability to equality, diversity and inclusion, public health, education and skills, and supporting early career researchers.
The UK Young Academy has been established as an interdisciplinary collaboration with the Academy of Medical Sciences, British Academy, Learned Society of Wales, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Irish Academy, Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Royal Society. It joins the global initiative of Young Academies, with the UK Young Academy becoming the 50th to join the Young Academy movement.
The call for members to the UK Young Academy in June 2022 received over 400 applicants from a variety of sectors including Life Sciences, Physical, Engineering and Computer Sciences, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Business, Public Service and Communications. The members were chosen by a panel of 65 reviewers, including an Appointments Committee.
The successful applicants officially took up their posts on 1 January 2023, and membership runs for five years.
It is expected that the next call for applications will open in 2023.
Full list of members
- Sean Adams
Professor in New Testament and Ancient Culture
University of Glasgow - Abigail Agyei
Senior Policy Advisor – Early Years Workforce Capability
Department of Health and Social Care - Ralph Akyea
Senior Research Fellow (Clinical Epidemiology)
University of Nottingham - Jahangir Alom
Emergency Medicine Doctor and Former Clinical Lead for the NHS Staff Vaccination Programme Barts Health NHS Trust - Alexandra Amon
Senior Kavli Research Fellow (Astrophysics)
University of Cambridge - Muhammad Naeem Anwar
Royal Society-Newton International Fellow (Physics)
Swansea University - Michael Berthaume
Senior Lecturer (Mechanical Engineering and Design)
London South Bank University - Ana Blanco Alvarez
Senior Lecturer in Infrastructure Engineering
Loughborough University - Amy Booth
Medical Doctor and DPhil Candidate
University of Oxford - Alice Bowen
Royal Society/EPSRC Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow and University of Manchester Dame Kathleen Ollerenshaw Fellow (Chemistry)
University of Manchester - Ruth Bowness
Lecturer/MRC Fellow (Mathematical Sciences)
University of Bath - Katrina Bradley
Teacher and Company Director
Numerasee - Igor Chernyavsky
Presidential Academic Fellow (Applied Mathematics)
University of Manchester - Karen Donaldson
Project Manager
The National Robotarium - Rhys Dore
Paediatric Doctor and NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow of Paediatrics
Barts Health NHS Trust and University College London - Brian Earp
Senior Research Fellow (Practical Ethics)
University of Oxford - Rosa Filgueira
Lecturer (Computer Sciences)
University of St Andrews - Tom Fleming
Co-Founder & COO
Arctoris - Andrea Ford
Research Fellow (Medical and Cultural Anthropology)
University of Edinburgh - Sivaneswary Genapathy
Associate Principal Scientist
AstraZeneca - Daniel Greenwood
Clinical Pharmacist and Consultant - Joseph Harvey
Substation Engineer
National Grid - Chiara Heide
CEO & Founder
P.Happi by B.Y.M. Technologies Ltd. - David Hester
Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering
Queen’s University Belfast - Eleanore Hickman
Lecturer (Corporate Law, Governance and Finance)
University of Bristol - Andrew Holding
Lecturer (Cancer Biology)
University of York - Yihua Hu
Reader (Electrical Engineering)
University of York - Barbara Hughes-Moore
Lecturer in Law
Cardiff University - Anthony Kevins
Lecturer in Politics and International Studies
Loughborough University - Rebecca Killick
Professor (Statistics)
Lancaster University - Abdalrhaman Mohamed Koko
Higher Research Scientist
National Physical Laboratory - Saloni Krishnan
Reader (Psychology)
Royal Holloway, University of London - Peter Kwok
Chair
UK Federation of Chinese Professionals - Mato Lagator
Independent Research Fellow (Bacterial Evolution)
University of Manchester - Mengyao Lu
Research Fellow (Child Safety)
University of Edinburgh - Jane Masoli
Senior Clinical Research Fellow
University of Exeter/Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Alistair McConnell
Assistant Professor in Computer Science
Heriot-Watt University - Sophie Meekings
Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow (Psychology)
University of York - Gerardo Javier Melendez-Torres
Professor of Clinical and Social Epidemiology
University of Exeter - Aditee Mitra
Research Fellow (Marine Ecology)
Cardiff University - Victoria Miyandazi
Research Fellow (Legal and Constitutional Research)
University of St Andrews - Isabel Moore
Reader in Human Movement and Sports Medicine
Cardiff Metropolitan University - Kinga Morsanyi
Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Cognition
Loughborough University - Xavier Moya
Assistant Professor (Materials Science and Metallurgy)
University of Cambridge - Denis Newman-Griffis
Lecturer in Data Science
University of Sheffield - Linda Oyama
Lecturer in Microbiomics, Antimicrobial Resistance and One Health
Queen’s University Belfast - Alina Patelli
Senior Lecturer in Computer Science
Aston University - John-Mark Philo
UKRI Future Leaders Fellow (Early-Modern Culture)
University of East Anglia - Charles Maurice Pigott
Lecturer – Hispanic Studies
University of Strathclyde - Sarah Pike
UKRI Future Leaders Fellow(Organic Chemistry)
University of Birmingham - Amit Narahar Pujari
Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering
University of Hertfordshire (Honorary appointment at University of Aberdeen) - Edward Pyzer-Knapp
Global Lead, AI Enriched Simulation
IBM - Richard Randle-Boggis
Research Associate (Global Sustainability)
University of Sheffield - Mirain Rhys
Senior Lecturer, Psychology
Cardiff Metropolitan University - Ricardo Safra de Campos
Senior Lecturer in Human Geography
University of Exeter - Fatemeh Shahbazi
Assistant Professor (Engineering)
University of Warwick - Katie Sheehan
UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Senior Lecturer Rehabilitation/Health Services
King’s College London - Abhay Soorya
Senior Director, Strategic Solutions
C3 AI - Christopher Stewart
Research Fellow (Microbial Ecology)
Newcastle University - Ahmad Taha
Lecturer and Assistant Professor (Autonomous Systems)
University of Glasgow - Catarina Vicente
Science Strategy and Projects Manager / Official Fellow in Public Engagement with Research
University of Oxford - Amy Vincent
Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow (Mitochondrial Research)
Newcastle University - Fiona Walport
Research Fellow (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Imperial College London - Vanissa Wanick
Senior Lecturer in Interaction Design
University of Southampton - Dominic Willmott
Senior Lecturer in Criminology
Loughborough University - Wenmiao Yu
Co-Founder & Director of Business Development
Quantum Dice Ltd. - Leor Zmigrod
Research Fellow (Political Psychology and Neuroscience)
University of Cambridge
The UK Young Academy is a collaboration with the Academy of Medical Sciences, British Academy, Learned Society of Wales, Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Irish Academy, Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Royal Society. It will connect emerging leaders with different knowledge and expertise, and include their voices in local and global policy discussions.
