Members of LSW’s ECR Network among new cohort of UK Young Academy

Four researchers from Wales are among the new members of the UK Young Academy (UKYA).

The four, who will join 141 emerging leaders already in the UKYA’s ranks, are:

• Dr Jamie Nash, a Post Doctoral Research Scientist with the Welsh Blood Service, Velindre University NHS Trust;
• Dr Charith Perera, Reader at the School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University;
• Claudia Perry, Digital Science Associate, British Petroleum;
• Dr Katharine Young, Bilingual Research Methods Lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Both Katharine Young and Jamie Nash are members of our ECR Network.

The new members of the Young Academy have been selected for their track records of excellence in their respective fields, from global fashion supply chains and AI in drug discovery to paediatrics and infectious diseases.

This 2026 cohort includes seven members from the arts, humanities, and social sciences, increasing their representation to a third of total membership. A further 18 per cent of new members bring backgrounds in business, the public sector, and communications.

Linda Oyama, representative of the UK Young Academy Executive Group said: “When we set out the UK Young Academy’s 2023–2028 Strategic Plan, one of our core missions was to convene diverse voices to share ideas and improve decision-making, and to develop, connect, and mobilise early-career talent.

This year’s cohort sees the highest proportion of new members coming from non-academic settings of any UK Young Academy cohort so far. Continuing to bring together members from diverse backgrounds will ensure we embed interdisciplinarity across all our work and will be invaluable as we deepen engagement with non-academic sectors particularly.”

We also recognise that meaningful careers also often unfold through unexpected twists and turns, and we continue to celebrate non-linear career paths with this new cohort.”

New members will come together for their Induction Day and the All-Members’ Meeting at the end of this month, as their first opportunity to connect and exchange aspirations.

The new members take up their posts on Monday 23 March 2026, and membership runs for five years.

Speaking as an incoming member and with experience in both industry and academia, new member Takunda Chingonzo said,

“Interdisciplinary work mirrors the realities of the world we live in today. Characterised by a desire for transformation and increasingly disrupted by new technologies…

I was drawn to the UK Young Academy because it convenes leaders from across disciplines who share a vision for the future… I envision the Young Academy as a convener and platform for shared learning and partnership.”

Christine Lehnen, new member, and Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Exeter said:

“I joined the UK Young Academy because creative practice trains a form of intelligence that is urgently needed today. It is the ability to pay deep, sustained attention.

As a writer, my work begins with taking notice: looking closely, deciding what matters, and imagining alternatives. In a time when constant distraction shapes our lives and our institutions, this imaginative attentiveness is not a luxury. Without it, we cannot even identify which questions are worth asking, worth researching.

I hope to contribute this artistic intelligence and help create spaces where members can slow down, focus, and think boldly across disciplinary boundaries about what truly matters today.”

New member and human rights journalist, Finbarr Toesland, added:

“Reporting has shown me how often important ideas stay stuck in silos. I joined the UK Young Academy because I wanted to be part of breaking that down. It is rare to find a space where professionals from different fields are encouraged to learn from each other in a sustained way, and I wanted to be part of that.”