Yasmin was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England and raised in London to a family of Indian and Burmese ancestry.

[2][3][4] Her mother, Yasmin Halima, was born in India and is a Distinguished Careers Institute fellow who works on women's health.

[7] She started her medical career in the National Health Service, working at Homerton University Hospital for one year.

In 2010 Yasmin was awarded a University of California, Los Angeles fellowship to train in clinical research in Botswana.

[16][8] Yasmin delivered the 2016 University of Texas at Austin McGovern Lecture, where she discussed the lessons she had learned reporting from public health emergencies.

[5] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Yasmin used social media, podcasts,[19] and popular science articles to better inform the public about the coronavirus disease.