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He obtained his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with a research focus in the Molecular Biology of Soil Microbial and Geographical Ecology from Seoul National University. He holds an M.Sc. (Distinction) and B.Sc. (First Class) in Plant Diversity and Conservation and Plant Biology and Biotechnology respectively from the University of Benin, Nigeria. After receiving his Ph.D., he worked as a Researcher at the Centre for Floristic Research of the Apennines, Italy where he contributed to numerous European Union-funded research including the famous NATURA 2000 project for sustainable ecosystem and biodiversity management. Before that, Matt was a Lecturer at the University of Benin, Nigeria, where he taught courses in plant biology and biotechnology, biometry, economic botany, cytogenetics, etc., and supervised and co-supervised honors and graduate students’ theses respectively. Dr. Ogwu is an interdisciplinary academic with transdisciplinary skills pertinent to the assessment of coupled human and natural as well as socioecological systems and has numerous awards, research grants, and scholarships to his name. His research and teaching revolve around sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem management by assessing the realm of coupled systems for sustainable environmental development as well as addressing sustainable development issues arising from various scales of biogeographical interactions. Some of his research interests include soil microbial and geographical ecology, molecular and genomic characterization of economic plant species for breeding, conservation, and sustainable utilization as well as biodiversity issues and policies, climate change science, gut and fecal microbiota, bioinformatics, biosystems and bioeconomy, sustainable agriculture and food production systems, ethnoscience (including traditional biotechnological practices), land use patterns, waste management, microbial diversity, environmental and social systems integrity, landscape preservation, and pollution ecology. He is spearheading some convergence works (One Health and Eco Health) in the Human Environmental and Agricultural Laboratory (HEAL lab) at Appalachian State University. Dr. Ogwu has published over 100 peer-reviewed works and has presented his results at different international conferences. Dr. Ogwu has attended numerous professional courses and serves on the board of and as a reviewer for many peer-reviewed international journals. He continues to volunteer his time and skills to promote sustainable community development, especially in the Global South. Matt is fluent in several languages and loves to travel and meet new people.