Two International Recognitions for St Cross Alumna Selena Milanovic

Selena Milanovic sitting on a chair, holding a copy of her published article.

St Cross alumna Dr Selena Milanovic (2017, DPhil Engineering Science) has received two significant international recognitions in 2026, celebrating both her work in science and healthcare and her contribution to wider discussions about international cooperation. 

Dr Milanovic has been named a global finalist in the Science and Sustainability category of the 2026 Study UK Alumni Awards, organised by the British Council to recognise international alumni of UK universities who have made an impact through their professional work.  

The Study UK profile highlights Milanovic’s work using computational modelling in medicine, including the development of a digital model of the human brain intended to unpick the underlying mechanisms of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. It also recognises the wider influence of her work on biomedical policy and public decision-making. 

The recognition follows another achievement earlier this summer, when Milanovic was awarded the 2026 Sylke Tempel Essay Prize for her essay In Search of Compromise: Redefining Cooperation in an Age of Individualism. Rather than understanding compromise simply as a point at which opposing sides each surrender part of their position, Milanovic argues for an approach centred on identifying possibilities that can only be achieved through cooperation. In this model, collaboration can create outcomes that neither party could achieve independently. 

This winning essay was subsequently published in Internationale Politik and in English by Internationale Politik Quarterly. 

Although rooted in international affairs, the essay also reflects questions that are central to Milanovic’s professional life: how different disciplines and sectors can work together to address complex problems.

Reflecting on the award, Selena says: 

I credit the interdisciplinary environment of St Cross College with shaping my belief that meaningful progress emerges when people from different disciplines and perspectives come together to define a desirable and sustainable society.

St Cross warmly congratulates Dr Milanovic on both recognitions.