Stephan Ntie
He is a Conservation Biologist and Scientific Advisor to Gabon’s National Park Agency (ANPN). He also holds a permanent faculty position at the Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM). He earned a PhD in Conservation Biology from the University of New Orleans (2012). His expertise spans phylogeography, evolutionary ecology, and conservation genetics, with extensive research across Central Africa. He has published widely on forest antelopes, rodents, primates, and pangolins, and maintains active scientific collaborations in Africa, Europe, the USA, and beyond.
He is a Conservation Biologist and Scientific Advisor to Gabon’s National Park Agency (ANPN). He also holds a permanent faculty position at the Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM). He earned a PhD in Conservation Biology from the University of New Orleans (2012). His expertise spans phylogeography, evolutionary ecology, and conservation genetics, with extensive research across Central Africa. He has published widely on forest antelopes, rodents, primates, and pangolins, and maintains active scientific collaborations in Africa, Europe, the USA, and beyond.
Dieu-Donné Moukétou-Tarazewicz
He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in physical geography from Omar Bongo University in 1998, a DEA in spatial analysis by using SPOT image analysis in 2003, a master's in remote sensing analysis, and a Ph.D. in earth sciences. He is currently a permanent Lecturer-Researcher (Assistant Professor) at Omar Bongo University in Libreville (Gabon). He has been the ECOTROP-UOB Focal Point since 2023. He is a licensed drone pilot (Category A3). He has experience with geotechnologies applied to phyto landscapes and geomorphology characterization.
He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in physical geography from Omar Bongo University in 1998, a DEA in spatial analysis by using SPOT image analysis in 2003, a master's in remote sensing analysis, and a Ph.D. in earth sciences. He is currently a permanent Lecturer-Researcher (Assistant Professor) at Omar Bongo University in Libreville (Gabon). He has been the ECOTROP-UOB Focal Point since 2023. He is a licensed drone pilot (Category A3). He has experience with geotechnologies applied to phyto landscapes and geomorphology characterization.
Aurélien Mokea-Niaty
Aurélien Mokea-Niaty holds a Ph.D. in Ecophysiology and Plant Biotechnologies. He is a CAMES Maître-Assistant and a Teacher-Researcher at the Biology Department of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of Masuku (USTM). As the Pedagogical Coordinator for the Master’s program in Aquatic and Marine Ecosystem Conservation, he oversees academic programs.
Aurélien Mokea-Niaty holds a Ph.D. in Ecophysiology and Plant Biotechnologies. He is a CAMES Maître-Assistant and a Teacher-Researcher at the Biology Department of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Science and Technology of Masuku (USTM). As the Pedagogical Coordinator for the Master’s program in Aquatic and Marine Ecosystem Conservation, he oversees academic programs.
Rolf Gael Mabicka Obame
Dr. Rolf Gael Mabicka Obame is a soil scientist. He is an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Agronomy and Biotechnology Franceville, Gabon, and has published more than 14 research articles in SCI(E) journals. He is the Chair of an African Network of Soil Analysis Laboratories (AFRILAB). His work focuses primarily on soil fertility and the sequestration of organic carbon and nitrogen in tropical soils.
Dr. Rolf Gael Mabicka Obame is a soil scientist. He is an Associate Professor at the National Institute of Agronomy and Biotechnology Franceville, Gabon, and has published more than 14 research articles in SCI(E) journals. He is the Chair of an African Network of Soil Analysis Laboratories (AFRILAB). His work focuses primarily on soil fertility and the sequestration of organic carbon and nitrogen in tropical soils.
Richard Oslisly
Richard Oslisly, a geoarchaeologist at the French research institute IRD, has 45 years of field experience in Central Africa, mainly in Gabon and Cameroon. His major discoveries include 2,000 rock engravings dating back 2000 years, the presence of a 650,000-year-old man in Lopé National Park, and the Iroungou burial cave with a treasure trove of iron and copper objects from the 15th century. He is pursuing multidisciplinary research into the caves of Gabon while training students through schools and field courses.
Richard Oslisly, a geoarchaeologist at the French research institute IRD, has 45 years of field experience in Central Africa, mainly in Gabon and Cameroon. His major discoveries include 2,000 rock engravings dating back 2000 years, the presence of a 650,000-year-old man in Lopé National Park, and the Iroungou burial cave with a treasure trove of iron and copper objects from the 15th century. He is pursuing multidisciplinary research into the caves of Gabon while training students through schools and field courses.
Geoffroy de Saulieu
As an archaeologist at IRD, he studies agro-ceramic societies that occupied humid intertropical regions during the Holocene (10,000 BC to the present), with a particular focus on Central Africa, including Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo. His collaboration with archaeologists from Cameroon and Gabon has strengthened academic partnerships with the University of Yaoundé I, Omar Bongo University in Libreville, and Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville. Since 2019, his work has centered on three major areas: developing and testing analytical methods for studying organic matter through projects on archaeological soil carbon; conducting preventive archaeology services for dam-related projects in Cameroon; and leading excavations at the Youmbidi rock shelter as part of the Franco-Gabonese Prehistoric Mission, supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Gabon National Parks Agency and the ECOTROP-Forest tropical ecology field school.
As an archaeologist at IRD, he studies agro-ceramic societies that occupied humid intertropical regions during the Holocene (10,000 BC to the present), with a particular focus on Central Africa, including Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo. His collaboration with archaeologists from Cameroon and Gabon has strengthened academic partnerships with the University of Yaoundé I, Omar Bongo University in Libreville, and Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville. Since 2019, his work has centered on three major areas: developing and testing analytical methods for studying organic matter through projects on archaeological soil carbon; conducting preventive archaeology services for dam-related projects in Cameroon; and leading excavations at the Youmbidi rock shelter as part of the Franco-Gabonese Prehistoric Mission, supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Gabon National Parks Agency and the ECOTROP-Forest tropical ecology field school.
Gretchen Marie Walters
She is a Franco-American anthropologist and botanist. She works at the interface of the social and natural sciences and policy, focusing on nature conservation, natural resource governance, and commons/community territories in Central Africa and Europe, often with a historical lens. Her work comprises inter- and trans-disciplinary action research projects, where she uses historical ecology, ethnographic, and participatory methods. She is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
She is a Franco-American anthropologist and botanist. She works at the interface of the social and natural sciences and policy, focusing on nature conservation, natural resource governance, and commons/community territories in Central Africa and Europe, often with a historical lens. Her work comprises inter- and trans-disciplinary action research projects, where she uses historical ecology, ethnographic, and participatory methods. She is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Geography and Sustainability at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Nicola Mary Anthony
Nicola Anthony is an evolutionary biologist and conservation geneticist. She is currently a Full Professor and holds the Freeport McMoRan Chair in Wildlife Sustainability at the University of New Orleans. She has worked extensively over the past two decades with a network of collaborators in the central African region on the ecology, evolution, and diversification of central African forest vertebrates. She is also a member of ECOTROP and is on the steering committee of the Congo Basin Science Initiative.
Nicola Anthony is an evolutionary biologist and conservation geneticist. She is currently a Full Professor and holds the Freeport McMoRan Chair in Wildlife Sustainability at the University of New Orleans. She has worked extensively over the past two decades with a network of collaborators in the central African region on the ecology, evolution, and diversification of central African forest vertebrates. She is also a member of ECOTROP and is on the steering committee of the Congo Basin Science Initiative.
Johannes Foufopoulos
Professor Johannes Foufopoulos is a faculty member at the University of Michigan (USA), where he teaches courses in Conservation Biology, Wildlife Ecology, and Ecosystem Health. His research group investigates a range of topics spanning the fields of Wildlife Conservation and Disease Ecology, with a particular interest in the impacts of emerging pathogens on wildlife populations. Additional research focuses on the ecology and evolution of island ecosystems, as well as the unique management challenges they present. Professor Foufopoulos has led international collaborations and has worked on 5 continents, typically employing interdisciplinary approaches. He has published extensively in leading scientific journals and has co-authored four books. He has also served in a variety of editorial capacities and been a visiting scholar at Griffith University (Australia) and at the Max-Planck Institute (Germany). A holder of multiple black belts, he enjoys teaching Taekwondo, as well as playing the harmonica in his free time.
Professor Johannes Foufopoulos is a faculty member at the University of Michigan (USA), where he teaches courses in Conservation Biology, Wildlife Ecology, and Ecosystem Health. His research group investigates a range of topics spanning the fields of Wildlife Conservation and Disease Ecology, with a particular interest in the impacts of emerging pathogens on wildlife populations. Additional research focuses on the ecology and evolution of island ecosystems, as well as the unique management challenges they present. Professor Foufopoulos has led international collaborations and has worked on 5 continents, typically employing interdisciplinary approaches. He has published extensively in leading scientific journals and has co-authored four books. He has also served in a variety of editorial capacities and been a visiting scholar at Griffith University (Australia) and at the Max-Planck Institute (Germany). A holder of multiple black belts, he enjoys teaching Taekwondo, as well as playing the harmonica in his free time.
