How we are governed

The UK Young Academy is governed by its members with the support of the seven senior partner academies. 

Our appointed Executive Group, elected by the membership, began their two-year term on 1 October 2024. This leadership team will guide the organisation’s development, shaping its direction and supporting key initiatives that address critical societal challenges. In February 2024, we released our Governance Framework.

Six people stand together with their arms around one another during a group photograph. Decorative green, yellow, and orange graphic elements frame the image.

Our structure

The UK Young Academy is a not for profit organisation, established under the auspices of the Royal Society, a UK registered charity, in partnership with the six other senior national academies, operating across the UK and Ireland.

Launched in June 2022, the initial structure sees the Young Academy currently operating under the Royal Society in the first instance. The UK Young Academy’s Governance Committee reports to the Royal Society Council on its progress.

67 members were selected to form the initial membership cohort in January 2023. We now have 162 members in total.

An Executive Group, comprising elected representatives of the membership, forms the leadership team. They are responsible for working with the membership to develop the Young Academy’s strategy and work plan.

Members are selected through a competitive application process by a selection committee comprising members from the Young Academy, Fellows and Members from the seven partner academies and early-career and professional sector representatives covering different areas of knowledge, expertise and geography.

The UK Young Academy is funded by a grant to the Royal Society from the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

Executive Group

The Executive Group of the UK Young Academy is comprised of peer-elected representatives from the membership. Following the completion of the Interim Executive Group’s term, seven new members have been appointed to serve a two-year term, beginning on 1 October 2024. This leadership group will guide the organisation’s development in its early years, shaping its direction and supporting initiatives that address critical societal challenges, both in the UK and beyond.

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Governance Committee

For its establishment, the UK Young Academy’s Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing the plan to set up the UK Young Academy, budget allocations and its operational requirements. Members include representatives from the Royal Society’s Council and staff, and the partner academies. 

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Mike Ashfold

Emeritus Professor of Chemistry from University of Bristol
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the University of Bristol, and a fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics. He served as a member of the Royal Society Council between 2019-2021. His research interests include molecular spectroscopy and photophysics (ranging from impacts on interstellar chemistry to the operation of sunscreen molecules), and diamond growth by chemical vapour deposition methods.
Mike Ashfold.
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Doreen Cantrell

Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Cellular Immunology
Professor of Cellular Immunology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee. Her research interests are the molecular mechanisms that control the function of T lymphocytes, key cells of the adaptive immune response. Between 1987-2002 Doreen led an immunology research group at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute. In 2002 she moved to the University of Dundee as a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow. She was Head of the College of Life Sciences and Vice Principal of the University of Dundee from 2010 to 2016. She is currently a member of Council for the Royal Society and a Trustee of Cancer Research UK.
Doreen Cantrell.
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Claire Connolly

Professor of Modern English from University College Cork
Professor of Modern English at University College Cork and a member of the Council of the Royal Irish Academy. She has written extensively on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Irish literature and has interests in cultural history and the environmental and plant humanities. Claire has been O’Brien Professor at Concordia University, Montreal, Parnell Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge and is currently Burns Scholar at Boston College, 2023-24.
Claire Connolly.
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Lesley Miles

Chief Officer – Programmes, Partnerships and Engagement
Chief Officer – Programmes, Partnerships and Engagement – at the Royal Society, having joined in 2013 as the Chief Strategy Officer. Her role includes responsibility for major strands of work including grants, public, schools and industry engagement and the Royal Society’s focus on diversity and inclusion in STEM. She is the staff lead for the UK Young Academy at the Royal Society. Before joining the Royal Society, Lesley was the Marketing and Communications Director of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Most of her career was spent working in the private sector, including six years as Marketing Director of Waterstones Booksellers.
Lesley Miles.
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James Naismith

Professor of Structural Biology and Director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute from University of Oxford
Jim Naismith is a structural biologist and Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, where he is Professor of Structural Biology. A graduate of Edinburgh and Manchester, he previously worked at St Andrews and directed the Rosalind Franklin Institute. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Medical Sciences. His research uses structural biology to understand disease pathways, particularly antibiotic resistance and microbial pathogens, and he shared a 2022 Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon Prize for work on nanobodies against COVID-19. His research applies X-ray crystallography, molecular biology and biochemistry to disease pathways, focusing on antibiotic resistance and novel targets in microbial pathogens. He shared a 2022 Royal Society of Chemistry Horizon Prize for work on Nanobodies against COVID-19.
James Naismith.

Membership Selection Committee

The Membership Selection Committee is comprised of members from the Young Academy, Fellows and Members from the seven partner academies and early-career and professional sector representatives covering different areas of knowledge, expertise and geography. Their role is to oversee the application process and asses possible candidates for membership.

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Senior Partner Academies

The seven senior partner academies each work in their own ways to engage people at an early stage of their careers across the UK and Ireland, but there was a gap for a single UK-wide organisation to do this independently. In the first initiative of this scale, the seven partner academies are working together to establish a Young Academy covering all areas of the UK.

While the UK Young Academy operates independently, it is overseen by the Governance Committee and continues to work closely with the partner academies on relevant programmes of work where appropriate.

Staff team

The UK Young Academy Staff team provides dedicated operational support to empower members in delivering their programmes of work, helping them achieve their goals and make a meaningful impact.

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Amy Fry

UK Young Academy Programme Manager
Amy Fry is the Programme Manager for the UK Young Academy, and has been in the role since 2021, supporting in the planning and launch of the organisation in 2022 and operational running since. She manages the Staff team, and is the main point of contact for the Executive Group, Partner Academies and other stakeholders…
Learn more by reading Amy Fry
Amy Fry.
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Charlotte Senior

Membership and Alumni Officer
Charlotte Senior is the Membership and Alumni Officer and joined the UK Young Academy at the end of November 2023. As part of her role, she overseas member activities and development, facilitates member-led projects, and organises events for members and stakeholders, including the New Members’ Induction and Annual Members’ Meeting. She is also the lead…
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Charlotte Senior.
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Lucy Druce Parfitt

UK Young Academy Communications Officer
Lucy Parfitt is the Communications Officer for the UK Young Academy. She leads the development of multi-channel communication strategies and works to raise the visibility of members’ work both within the organisation and externally. Previously, she was the Marketing and Communications lead for the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s public engagement programme. Lucy has also spent…
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Lucy Druce Parfitt.
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Tom Musgrove

Uk young academy assistant
Tom Musgrove is the Assistant on the UKYA Staff Team, having started this position in August 2025. Prior to joining the UKYA team, he studied for a PhD at Queen Mary University of London, where he researched ‘Histories and Futures in Britain’s Imagined Balkans, 1856-1914’, a project which explored the formation of stereotypical images of…
Learn more by reading Tom Musgrove
Tom Musgrove.

Other Young Academies

We are part of a growing global network of Young Academies who share knowledge, support one another, and work on international projects. There are now over 60 other national young academies around the world and a further eight transnational young academies as part of the global Young Academies initiative. Within the UK, the Young Academy of Scotland was established by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2011, while the Royal Irish Academy launched the Young Academy Ireland in 2022. Many early-career researchers and professionals from the UK have also been members of the European Young Academy and the Global Young Academy.

Learn more about the activities of other Young Academies from their members.

Need more help or have further questions?

Call us on : + 44 207 451 2500
(Lines open Mon-Fri, 9:00 – 17:00
Excludes bank holidays)
Email us: enquiries@ukyoungacademy.org

You can also write to us at this postal address:

UK Young Academy, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG

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