Barbara Vinceti has a PhD in tropical forest ecology from the University of Edinburgh, UK and between 2002 and 2006, she has been responsible for planning and coordinating research activities on conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Latin American countries. Since 2006, she has contributed to different EU-funded research projects focused on understanding responses of forest ecosystems to climate change, in collaboration with the EUFORGEN Programme. She is currently coordinating research activities on the conservation of forest genetic resources of key food trees species in West Africa and on the role of these species in restoration efforts of dryland forest ecosystems.