WASHINGTON — The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine program has announced its 2026-2028 cohort of members, a group of 20 outstanding mid-career scientists, engineers, and medical professionals.

During their two-year term of service, the new members may participate in the National Academies’ consensus and convening activities, develop their own interdisciplinary projects, and continue building a robust network of emerging STEM leaders across the U.S. and around the world.

New Voices aims to expand the expertise engaged in the work of the National Academies while developing a network of U.S. leaders to address national and global challenges.

“Now more than ever, we need to nurture the next generation of talented American researchers, who are the future leaders of the U.S. science and innovation enterprise,” said Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences. “I am pleased to welcome the 2026 New Voices members and excited to see all that they will accomplish.”

The new members are:

• Anne M. Brown, Virginia Tech

• Kaiping Chen, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Alycia Chin, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

• Yamil J. Colón, University of Notre Dame

• Portia Flowers, National Science Foundation

• Robert J. Frawley, BioBus Inc.

• Nyeema C. Harris, Yale University

• Jasmine R. Marcelin, University of Nebraska Medical Center

• Jeffrey Marlow, Boston University

• Matteo Muratori, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

• Grace O’Connell, University of California, Berkeley

• Leslie O’Leary, Dow

• Leonard Pease, American Institute of Chemical Engineers

• Siva Pilli, Dassault Systemes

• Nikitha Sambamurthy, Building Better Learning

• Sutyajeet Soneja, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

• Katherine Y. Tossas, Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Louis Tse, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

• Yao Xie, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Maryam Zaringhalam, Center for Open Science

In addition, six members of the previous cohort will extend their service for approximately nine months to support the new cohort and provide continuity to their work:

• Sabrina Assoumou, Boston University, Boston Medical Center

• Mariel Lavieri, University of Michigan

• Mitul Luhar, University of Southern California

• Jamaji Nwanaji-Enwerem, University of Pennsylvania

• Eri Saikawa, Emory University

• Amanda Vernon, Aver Strategy

The new cohort will be supported by an advisory committee made up of senior experts; elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine; and program alumni who are dedicated to the New Voices mission.

With the addition of the new members, the New Voices network now has 80 members across four cohorts. Members of previous cohorts have served on over 40 National Academies committees and represented U.S. mid-career STEM voices in more than 100 engagements at major international and domestic events as speakers, planning committee members, and attendees.

Visit the New Voices website for more information about the members and the program. New Voices is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences Kobelt Fund, and the Shu and KC Chien Endowment.

The National Academies are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. For more information, visit nationalacademies.org.  

Media Contact:
Solomon Self, Media Relations Officer
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; email news@nas.edu