Olivia Swann, Wellcome Early Career Fellow and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Infection Disease at the Usher Institute, has been announced as one of the 22 new members of the UK Young Academy. This year’s new members will join 141 emerging leaders already in the UK Young Academy ranks. They 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 year’s 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. I’m really pleased to be joining the UK Young Academy. The challenges that matter most rarely sit neatly within one discipline, and the Academy creates a space for people from different fields to work together on ideas that can genuinely improve people’s lives. Dr Olivia Swann Wellcome Early Career Fellow and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Infection Disease New members will come together for their Induction Day and the All-Members’ Meeting as their first opportunity to connect and exchange aspirations.Membership of the UK Young Academy runs for five years, with the new cohort taking up their posts on 23 March 2026. A call for member applications will open again this year on Wednesday 22 April.Further informationHuman rights journalists, biomedical scientists, and creative writers among UK Young Academy’s new members | UK Young AcademyOlivia Swann | The University of Edinburgh Publication date 10 Mar, 2026
