Dr Michael U Ukwuru is from Nigeria, born on December 30, 1962, and currently works as a Chief Lecturer and Head of Department at The Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi State, Nigeria. He holds a Ph.D in Food Microbiology. He has published ˃40 articles in journals and has presented ˃50 research papers in local and international conferences. He has reviewed ˃ 100 manuscripts for different journals in the last 2 years. He is a member of Editorial Board for ˃ 20 journals. He is highly recognized by the PUBLONS (a part of Clarivate Analytics) as a reviewer and a MENTOR for upcoming reviewers in the PUBLONS ACADEMY. He is a member of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) International Development Peer Review College, member of 5 local professional bodies in Nigeria and 3 international professional bodies. Dr Ukwuru has supervised many graduate research works.

Dr Michael U research interest is in the area of Food and industrial microbiology and food safety. Microbial biodiversity and interactions in foods. Currently, I am working on the development of starter cultures with a view to enhance the quality of some commonly consumed traditional fermented foods in Africa. These foods are spontaneously fermented coupled with poor handling. This results in products with variable qualities and residual toxicity. The use of an appropriate starter culture for their fermentation will generally improve their overall qualities.