Dr. Chika Ejikeugwu is a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (AvH) in Germany and currently serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany. He is also the founder of the online microbiology education platform www.MicrobiologyClass.net, dedicated to advancing microbiology learning and research. He previously held a DAAD Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin, Germany (2021). He is currently a COFUND Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellow under Horizon Europe, funded by the European Union. His first postdoctoral training was on HIV-1 at the Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan (2018), supported by the Matsumae International Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Tokyo. He earned his PhD in Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria. In addition to his international research engagements, Dr. Ejikeugwu is a Senior Lecturer at Enugu State University of Science & Technology, Nigeria, where he mentors undergraduate and postgraduate students in microbiology. His research interests span antimicrobial resistance & One Health.

Oluwafemi Ayodeji Adebo is Vice Dean: Global Engagement and Professor of Food Technology at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa, where he also directs the Centre for Innovative Food Research (CIFR). His research focuses on sustainable food processing, fermentation, food metabolomics, and 3D food printing to enhance nutrition, food security, and health. Listed among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, he has published over 140 journal articles, 29 book chapters, and 2 books (with other books titles in progress), and holds a patent on 3D food printing. Prof. Adebo has secured over ZAR 20 million in research funding and received numerous awards, including the Institute of Food Technologists Emerging Leader Award, NRF Emerging Researcher of the Year, and UJ’s Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Award. A TWAS Young Affiliate and Member of the South African Young Academy of Science, he serves on editorial boards of leading journals, has delivered keynote talks globally, and actively drives strategic partnerships that advance science and innovation worldwide.

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.