Professor John N. Maina is an internationally recognised comparative respiratory morphologist and NRF A-rated scientist at the University of Johannesburg. His research focuses on the evolutionary and adaptive design of gas-exchange systems and their structural and functional characteristics across diverse animal species. Prof Maina obtained his Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Nairobi in 1979, followed by a PhD (1982) and Doctor of Veterinary Science (DVSc) (1999) from the University of Liverpool. He has held academic and research positions at the universities of Nairobi, the Witwatersrand, and Johannesburg, where he currently serves as Research Professor in the Department of Zoology.

He has published more than 200 scientific works, including six books and numerous book chapters, and delivered keynote and invited lectures internationally. His pioneering research has advanced stereological and morphometric methods in comparative respiratory morphology. He has supervised and mentored more than 22 MSc students, 14 PhD students, and eight postdoctoral research fellows and serves as Associate Editor for several international journals.