Dr. Chika Ejikeugwu is a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) in Germany and a Senior Research Fellow at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany. He is also the founder of the online microbiology platform, www.MicrobiologyClass.net. Dr. Ejikeugwu previously served as a DAAD Postdoctoral Fellow at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany. Dr. Ejikeugwu completed his first postdoctoral training on HIV-1 at the Laboratory of Infectious Disease Models, Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan (2018), under the MIF Postdoctoral Fellowship. He holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. In addition to his research, Dr. Ejikeugwu is a senior lecturer and researcher at the Enugu State University of Science & Technology (ESUT), Nigeria, where he mentors both undergraduate and postgraduate students in microbiology and related fields. His research interests include antimicrobial resistance (AMR), soil health, One-Health, infectious diseases, bacteriology, and virology.

Oluwafemi Adebo is a professor in the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), in South Africa. He received both his master’s and doctoral degree (Food Technology) at UJ. In addition to teaching responsibilities, he leads the Food Innovation Research Group involved with the improvement of various traditional food processes, enhancing food-health-promoting constituents, development of nutrient-dense food products, and value addition to underutilized food sources using conventional, novel and innovative approaches including 3D food printing, all in an effort to ensure zero hunger as well as good health and well being. He has contributed to over 100 journal articles, 23 book chapters and lead editor of a book. He has received over 15 million South African rands in grant funding and won prestigious awards, including the 2019 Institute of Food Technologists Emerging Leader Award, 2021 National Research Foundation Emerging Researcher of the Year, 2021 UJ’s Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Award as an Outstanding Young Researcher, and UJ's Faculty of Science Top Research Award (Lecturer/Senior Lecturer Category) in 2021, among others.

Onjamirindra Sarobidy Rakotonarivo is a research fellow at the Department of Forestry and Environment at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. She holds a Bachelor of Science in agricultural sciences and a Master of Science in Sustainable Tropical Forestry. She earned a joint PhD in environmental and development economics from Bangor University, UK, and the University of Copenhagen, the Netherlands, in 2016. Her research interests are in nature-climate interventions in Africa, such as forest conservation, restoration, and climate-smart agriculture. She uses a mixed method approach, including field experiments and qualitative approaches, to study the political and socioecological factors that increase their effectiveness. By identifying what does and doesn’t work, and under what conditions, her research aims to support the design of policies that contribute to the long-term well-being of people and nature. She also has a track record of supporting evidence-based policy and working in multi-stakeholder engagement.