Dr Victor Mela Obinna Okoro is from Umuokenmadu, Agbaghara Nsu, in Ehime Mbano LGA of Imo State, being the second child of Professor and Mrs Victor Ogunyiriofor Okoroh. He is an Associate Professor of Animal Genomics and Genetics, in the Department of Animal Science and Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) since 2017, with over 15 years of University Teaching and Research experience both at undergraduate and graduate levels. Over the years, Dr Okoro has been directly involved in the use of Metabolomics in identifying genetic signatures towards the improvement of livestock species, being an area he conducted his Post-Doctoral studies at the Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa. He is currently a Research fellow at the same Department at the University of South Africa (UNISA) where he regularly visits for bench work and research collaborations to date. In Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), he is fully engaged in the research area of genomics, used in identifying and evaluating genetic diversity and selection in Avians, Small ruminants and Grasscutters of West Africa. He has successfully supervised over 25 undergraduate and graduate students and is the author/co-author of more than 70 research outputs comprising journal articles, conference papers, monographs, technical reports, books and book chapters, most of which have been published internationally. Some of these can be accessed on Researchgate, Google Scholar, etc.
Dr Okoro has worked as a Consultant in various capacities for various multinational projects such as World Bank Assisted Fadama II Project as supervisor and desk officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project - African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) as Nigeria Project data analyst, CE-AFRICAN TIKUNN project, in Diesploot, Johannesburg as supervisor and trainer amongst others. He has served in various professional bodies and associations in executive and membership capacities, such as American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG), Professional Natural Scientist in South African Council for Natural Scientific Professionals (SACNASP), South African Society of Animal Science (SASAS) among others. He is a member of several humanitarian organizations including the Red Cross Society of Nigeria, Imo State chapter, and Amnesty International.
