Simeon Fogue Kouam obtained his Bachelor of Science (licence) and Postgraduate Diploma (Maîtrise and DEA). He received his Doctorat de 3e cycle and the Doctorat d’Etat in Organic Chemistry, respectively, in 2000 and 2005 at the University of Yaounde I, Cameroon, under the supervision of Professor Bonaventure Tchaleu Ngadjui. He was promoted to lecturer in 2000, then to Senior Lecturer in 2003, Associate Professor in 2008 and to full Professor in 2015 at the Department of Chemistry, Higher Teacher Training College, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon. Then, he carried out his postdoctoral research with Prof. Dr. Mult. h.c. emeritus Karsten Krohn at the University of Paderborn, Germany. He was several times inviting professor at the Technology University of Dortmund and at HZI, Germany. His interests are in the field of natural products chemistry, the isolation, purification and structures elucidation of bioactive compounds from plants and fungi, and the structural modification of compounds to increase their activities. He has isolated and characterized several bioactive compounds which have been described in more than 110 publications.

Molibeli Taele is associate professor of Physics at the National University of Lesotho. He obtained his B.Sc. in Physics and Mathematics (1991) and B.Sc. (Honours) in Mathematics (1992) from the National University of Lesotho. He followed this, with a postgraduate Diploma in Physics and Electronics (1993), M.Sc. in Semiconductor Devices (1994) and a PhD in Physics (2000) from University of Lancaster, UK. His areas of research include solar photovoltaic systems, sustainable energy technologies, climate change mitigation and rural energy access. He is an author/co-author of more than 20-refereed scientific publications, 5 invited papers and 50 conference papers/abstracts, including compilation of the mitigation component of the Lesotho Nationally Determined Contribution to the 2018 Agreement under the UNFCCC. He was the coordinating author of the Lesotho Second National Communications to the UNFCCC published in 2013. In addition, he has carried out some of the major national consultancies on solar energy resource analysis, climate change mitigation and sustainable energy development initiatives.

Negussie Wodajo Beyene earned his BSc and MSc in chemistry from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, in 1991 and 1996 respectively. He did his PhD studies at the Institute of Chemistry-Analytical Chemistry, Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria (2003). Negussie also earned an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2017. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Department of Chemistry, University of Pretoria, South Africa and at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain (2003-2005). He also had a research fellowship at the Institute of Medical and Chemical Diagnostic Laboratories, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna (2006). Negussie served as a Clinical chemist and head of regional laboratory, as lecturer of clinical chemistry, and assistant professor of chemistry in Ethiopia. In Dec 2007, he joined APOPO, a Belgian NGO that trains rats to save life, and has been serving as research analytical chemist, program manager of the Tuberculosis research project in Tanzania, and currently as a country representative and project manager of tuberculosis research project of AHRI-APOPO in Ethiopia.

Tchouassi obtained a his MSc at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana working on malaria transmission dynamics under the African Regional Postgraduate Programme on Insect Science (ARPPIS) and graduated with a PhD (Entomology) in 2013 at the University of Pretoria. In his PhD thesis he studied the cues used by mosquito vectors of Rift Valley fever virus to locate their animal hosts for a blood meal, and performed the first population genetics of the primary vectors of the disease. The study, which represents the most detailed investigation of the chemical basis for mosquito attraction, has provided a substantial contribution to our understanding of disease transmission in Kenya. David is currently a research scientist at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya, after completing a postdoctoral position (2013-2015). David’s research interests include developing and evaluating complementary innovative tools for disease vector control and pathogen surveillance and applying multidisciplinary approaches (chemical ecology/behaviour/molecular biology/bioinformatics/arbovirology).

Adzitey is a Senior Lecturer at the University for Development Studies, Ghana. He holds a BSc in Agriculture Technology, MSc in Meat Science and Technology and a PhD in Food Safety. His scientific interests cover a broad range of topics, including animal and meat science, food quality and safety, antibiotic resistance and molecular characterization of foodborne and waterborne pathogens. He is a member of the Ghana Young Academy. He is the recipient of a number of awards, including: IAFP Travel Award for Food Safety Professionals in a Country with a Developing Economy (2017); Early Career Researcher Award by The Royal Society of United Kingdom and National Research Foundation of Singapore (2017); ICFMH studentship grant to attend the 25th International ICFMH Conference (2016); Bursary from EU FP7 Project AnimalChange to attend a training workshop on Livestock and Climatic Change (2015); Sanggar Sanjung Award for excellent achievement in category of journal publication for the year 2012-Universiti Sains Malaysia (2014); Bursary from Wellcome Trust (WTAC) to attend a training workshop on Molecular Approaches to Clinical Microbiology in Africa (2014).