University College Cork, Ireland; GYA Co-Chair
Yensi Flores Bueso is Co-Chair of the GYA and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Nobel Prize-awarded Institute for Protein Design (University of Washington) and the Cancer Research Centre at University College Cork. Her research applies cutting-edge computational protein design to engineer de novo proteins for cancer therapies and broader biomedical applications.
In addition to her scientific work, Yensi has co-founded multiple successful ventures, including an Irish diagnostics company and the first molecular biology research lab at the National University of Honduras.
Vanessa McBride
Science Director, International Science Council
Biography forthcoming
Biomedical Researcher,University of Buenos Aires CONICET, Argentina; CoARA Steering Board member & GYA member
Luciana Balboa is an Infectious Diseases researcher at INBIRS (University of Buenos Aires-CONICET) and an Immunology professor at UBA’s School of Medicine. Her team advances understanding of the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen behind tuberculosis. A pioneer in global collaboration, she established the first French-Argentine International Associate Laboratory focused on TB/HIV co-infection.
Neville Compton
Editor-in-Chief of Small, Wiley
Biography forthcoming
Ashutosh Sharma
President, Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
Biography forthcoming
Senior Scientist, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute; GYA & INYAS Member
Veda Krishnan is a research scientist with 13 years of expertise in food and nutritional science and heads the Food Matrix Lab at ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Her work centers on improving global health through innovative food research, focusing on bio-functional foods and enhancing carbohydrate quality to promote satiety via gut-sweet receptor signaling. She has authored over 85 peer-reviewed papers, holds patents, and has developed commercial food prototypes. Veda is a former secretary of INYAS, and is affiliated with NASI and INSA as a young associate, actively contributing to the scientific community.
Sandeep Sandhu
Head of Stakeholder Relationships, Innovate UK Business Connect, UK Young Academy Member
Sandeep Sadhu is a leading expert in global research and innovation. As Executive Director of Global, Insights and Investment at Innovate UK Business Connect, she drives strategic international engagement across government, industry, and academia. At UKRI, Innovate UK, and the Medical Research Council, she has led major global initiatives, shaped international innovation policy, and delivered cross-border R&D programmes. Sandeep holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, conducting research for the Ministry of Defence.
Suryesh Kumar Namdeo
Senior Research Analyst, DST-Centre for Policy Research- Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, INYAS Member
Suryesh Kumar Namdeo is a Senior Research Analyst at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and a member of the Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS). He leads research projects on science diplomacy and biosecurity. Previously, he was the science and technology consultant for the Biological Weapons Convention at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs in Geneva. He has co-chaired a multinational biosecurity project with the US National Academies (NASEM) and currently serves on the advisory board for the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS). Earlier, he had worked as the Program Officer for India’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy Fellowship.
Shri S. Jaishankar
Union Minister of External Affairs, Govt. Of India
Biography forthcoming
Kana Asano
Science diplomacy expert at Japan Science & Technology Agency (JST)
Biography forthcoming
B. Chagun Basha
Chief Policy Advisor, Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India
Biography forthcoming
Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft; GYA Alumnus
Tyrone Grandison is the Board Chairman of The Data-Driven institute, which is a public health non-profit that helps policymakers create and implement effective programs and policies to solve their most critical problems, using the knowledge of the community, data and technology. Ty is also a 2018 Zhi-Xing Eisenhower Fellow. He was the first-ever Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Ty also advises the Government of Jamaica on their Information Technology strategy – as a member of the National Information and Communications Technology Advisory Council (2016-18).
Shri Jayesh Ranjan
Special Chief Secretary, Industry & Investment Cell, Govt. of Telangana
Biography forthcoming
Nohad A AlOmari
Former Dean and Professor, Mosul University, Iraq
Nohad A AlOmari works in the field of pharmaceutical sciences and the education sector. She was active in this field for more than three decades with a proven record, a professional history, patents, and national and international scientific awards. Prof. AlOmari has a strong and clear vision to find realistic solutions to challenges in the field of pharmaceutical education and sciences.
Nohad was Deputy Dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Mosul at the alternate location for the years 2014-2017 – this period of time was a turning point in her academic career, being full of challenges. She has also been appointed Dean of the College of Pharmacy / University of Al-Kitab, where she focused on empowering women.
Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Egerton University, Kenya; GYA Member
Erick Komolo is a practising lawyer and academic/researcher based out of Nairobi, Kenya, and Listed Counsel of the African Court of Human & Peoples’ Rights. He serves as the official Ombudsman for Amnesty International, Kenya. He is a Member of Tax Appeals Tribunal, where he adjudicates cases on tax law and administration; and Chairs TAT Committee on Trainings, Capacity Building & Resource Mobilisation & Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Egerton University. He also serves as Visiting Lecturer at Strathmore Law School, where he designed and taught the first LL.M Unit on Public Private Partnerships (in Africa) (PPP) in Kenya.
Subi Chaturvedi
Global SVP, Chief Corporate Affairs and Public Policy Officer, In Mobi
Biography forthcoming
Arnab Dutta
Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay; INYAS Member
Biography forthcoming
Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Environmental Science, National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe; GYA Member
Keith is an independent researcher and consultant. He is a senior lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe. He has research interests in urban health and the environment, particularly in climate change. He has researched smallholder farmers’ adaptive responses to global warming. Keith is also interested in gender issues, poverty, water, peace and conflict, natural resource governance, and food security. He holds a PhD in Social Sciences (University of Fort Hare, South Africa). He has several research articles from referred journals on climate change impacts and adaptation. He is an Eisenhower Fellow class of 2022 USA and an active GYA member (2023– 2028).
Professor of Ecology, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil; GYA Member
Luisa Maria Diele-Viegas is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mississippi, a permanent professor at the Graduate Program of Ecology at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, and a collaborator professor at the Graduate Program of Zoology at the State University of Santa Cruz, Brazil. She is the chair of the Brazilian Chapter of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World, vice-chair of the Brazilian Association of Ecological Science and Conservation, co-founder and chair of the Kunhã Asé Network of Women in Science, and council member of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology.
Smita Pandey Mishra
Founder and CEO, Fandoro Technologies Pvt Ltd
Biography forthcoming
Nanda Lakkaraju
Senior Director, Engineering, Carrier Technologies
Biography forthcoming
Shweta Yadav
Assistant Professor, Central University of Jammu; INYAS Member
Biography forthcoming
Nishad Fathima Nishter
Principal Scientist, Senior CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute, India; INYAS Member
Biography forthcoming
Flavia Schlegel
CEO Science Governance Partnership, Switzerland
Biography forthcoming
Associate Professor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; GYA Member
Emilija Stojmenova Duh, Ph.D., is an accomplished leader in digital transformation, an associate professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, and a former Minister of Digital Transformation for Slovenia. With a career spanning academia, innovation, and public service, she has consistently driven impactful initiatives that bridge technology, policy, and sustainable development. In 2024, Dr. Stojmenova Duh was selected as one of the 100 Women in GovTech by GovInsider, recognizing her contributions to the field of digital transformation and innovation.
Rishemjit Kaur
Principal Scientist, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research – Central Scientific Instruments Organisation; INYAS Member
Biography forthcoming
Suresh Bhagavatula
Professor, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Biography forthcoming
Senior Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa; GYA Member
Dr. Natisha Dukhi is a leading public health scientist whose interdisciplinary research advances equity, sustainability, and leadership in science. With a PhD in Public Health and over a decade of experience as a medical scientist, lecturer, and researcher, her expertise spans nutrition, and child and adolescent health. As a Senior Research Specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council, she leads large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects that inform public health policy and practice, particularly in underserved communities. Dr. Dukhi is a thought leader and advocate for inclusive research systems, science diplomacy, and capacity building. She has served as a Fellow of the Africa Science Leadership Programme, and is a former Co-Chair of the South African Young Academy of Science.
Rémi Quirion
President, International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA)
Rémi Quirion is the inaugural Chief Scientist of Quebec since July 2011. As such, he chairs the Fonds de recherche du Québec and advises the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy on research and scientific development issues. As of September 2021, he is the President of the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA), a network present in over a hundred different countries with more than five thousand members.
Until his appointment as chief scientist, Rémi Quirion was the vice-dean for science and strategic initiatives in the faculty of medicine at McGill University and senior university advisor on health sciences research.
Luz Milbeth Cumba Garcia
Former Advisor for Sustainability, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy; GYA Member
Luz Cumba Garcia is an immunologist, policy advisor, and science communicator. She recently served as Advisor for Sustainability at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, supporting global HIV/AIDS initiatives through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). A AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship alumna, she contributed to U.S.-Mexico global health policy at the State Department and Arab-Israeli scientific collaboration at USAID. She is founding member of the Science Diplomacy Network in Latin America and the Caribbean (DiploCientifica).
Debashis Mitra
Vice-President, Indian National Science Academy (INSA, International Affairs)
Biography forthcoming
Rakesh Kumar Pilania
Assistant Professor, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh; INYAS Member
Biography forthcoming