Biographical note

Sesan Abiodun Aransiola, is a Ph.D holder in Environmental Microbiology in the Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria. He obtained his first degree (B.Tech) and Master Degree (M.Tech) from the same department in 2009 and 2014 respectively.  He has demonstrated his research expert in the production of vermicasts from vermicoposting (Vermitechnology) of organic wastes to assist plants in the remediation of polluted soil with heavy metals. Currently, he is a Lecturer at the Department of Microbiology, University of Abuja, Nigeria. His area of interest is Environmental Microbiology with research area in phytoremediation, vermicomposting, biosorption and bioremediation of soil contaminated environment. He is an award-winning researcher and has over 80 publications including book chapters, research and review articles of good international repute with high impact factor. He has co-edited scientific books of global interest which include microbial biotechnology for bioenergy (Elsevier). Ecological interplays in microbial enzymology, prospects for soil regeneration and its impact on environmental protection (Springer). Microbial biofilms – applications and control, marine greens: environmental, agricultural, industrial and biomedical applications, Emerging Contaminants in Food and Food Products, Phytoremediation in Food Safety: Risks and Prospects (CRC Press) with many more in the process. Also, has worked to the rank of an assistant chief scientific officer at Bioresources Development Centre, National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency, Nigeria where he was involved in the uses of vinasse (a by-product of ethanol) as bio-fertilizer to reclaim polluted soil for agricultural purposes. Abiodun is a member of Nigerian Society for Microbiology and American Society for Microbiology among others.

Habiba I. Atta is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. Her area of specialization is Environmental Microbiology, and she conducted postdoctoral research at Rutgers University, United States as a Fulbright scholar. The research was focused on studying aromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria using whole genome sequencing and other molecular tools, and it was targeted at harnessing beneficial soil bacteria in the removal of pollutants from the environment as a sustainable approach in remediating polluted ecosystems. She was a beneficiary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund postgraduate scholarship, (Nigeria) for her PhD research in the molecular characterization of soil bacteria with potential for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation. She has authored several peer-reviewedjournal articles, contributed to book publications and served as a guest contributor to the blog of the American Society for Microbiology. Habiba is passionate about science communication and is the Managing Editor of the West African Journal of Microbiology, an Associate Editor and Book Reviewer for Fulbright Chronicles, and a member of the Colloquium committee in the Faculty of Life Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University. She is a strong advocate for STEM education and is currently the Institutional Coordinator of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing world (OWSD), Ahmadu Bello University Branch. She is a member of the Nigerian Society for Microbiology, American Society for Microbiology, Society for General Microbiology, and 500 Women Scientists.

Naga Raju Maddela received his M.Sc. (1996 -1998) and Ph.D. (2012) in Microbiology from Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapuramu, India. During his doctoral program in the area of Environmental Microbiology, he investigated the effects of industrial effluents/insecticides on soil microorganisms and their biological activities and he is working as Faculty in Microbiology since 1998, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students. He worked on Prometeo Investigator (fellowship received from SENESCYT) at Universidad Estatal Amazónica, Ecuador during 2013-15, received "Postdoctoral Fellowship" (2016 -2018) from Sun Yat-sen University, China. He also received external funding from "China Postdoctoral Science Foundation" in 2017, internal funding from "Universidad Técnica de Manabí" in 2020. He participated in national / international conferences, and presented research data in China, Cuba, Ecuador, India and Singapore. Currently, he is working as a Full Professor at the Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Técnica de Manabí, Portoviejo, Ecuador. He has been actively publishing scientific articles, books (authored and edited) and chapters since 2007. As of now, he published 60 articles, 10 books and 40 book chapters.