Elsa Sattout, an assistant professor at NDU, is a Ph.D. holder in Agricultural Botany from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. She is a practical botanist and an interdisciplinary professional with more than 15 years’ experience in Eastern Mediterranean ecosystems. She pursued her undergraduate studies in Agriculture Engineering at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in Lebanon, and followed her post-graduate studies in Natural Products-Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agriculture Studies (ICAMAS) in Greece. A conservationist, scholar, teacher, and nature lover familiar with eastern Mediterranean forests, she built up her expertise since 1998 on their ecology, conservation, and ethnobotanical, and socio-economic values within the context of her studies and involvement in national and international projects. During her Ph.D. studies, she worked with leading taxonomists and conservationists at the University of Reading and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, natural resources managers, and environmental economists. She published articles in peer reviewed journals, authored chapters in various books, and referenced national and regional documents.