Sandra Van Puyvelde, an alumnus of the mastat program, has been elected as chairwoman of the Young Academy. She will preside the Young Academy together with Bart Vermang. They will be inaugurated on wednesday March 8, 2023. Sandra is currently a professor at the University of Antwerpen, senior research associate at the University of Cambridge and visiting researcher at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. She researches the evolution of bacteria causing invasive diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.