Dr. Nikhil Advani was born and brought up in Kenya and studied in the UK prior to moving to Texas in 2000 where he went on to pursue his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin, both in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. His thesis focused on gaining a better mechanistic understanding of species response to climate change, using the Glanville Fritillary butterfly as a model species. During his time at UT Nikhil received a number of awards, including the College of Natural Sciences teaching award from the Texas Exes, an outstanding teaching award from the School of Biological Sciences, and a number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships. In 2019 he was honored by the University of Texas at Austin - College of Natural Sciences, with their emerging leader award.

After completing his Ph.D. in 2012, Nikhil worked for the Nature Conservancy in Texas for a year prior to joining World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 2013. Nikhil’s role at WWF is at the intersection of communities, wildlife and the varied threats they face, from climate change to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Most recently, he is leading a GEF project focused on how Covid-19 is affecting nature-based tourism in eastern and southern Africa, which seeks to connect funders to communities most affected by the crisis (African Nature-Based Tourism Collaborative Platform). Other projects under Nikhil's portfolio focus on better understanding how wildlife and rural communities are being affected by changes in weather and climate, and developing and implementing solutions to help them adapt. These include an initiative to crowdsource data and implement climate adaptation projects for rural communities (WWF Climate Crowd), a Wildlife and Climate assessment series to research species vulnerability to climate change, creation of a Wildlife Adaptation Innovation Fund to help at risk species adapt to climate change, and he is a member of the IUCN SSC Climate Change Specialist Group.

Nikhil has published his work and been featured in a variety of media outlets, including scientific journals and the popular press, and often serves as a spokesperson for WWF. He is frequently invited to speak at or chair public events.

Nikhil has significant experience working with partners all over the world, from government agencies to small rural communities, across many different cultures. He has travelled extensively, having visited over 50 countries and all 7 continents. These experiences have all contributed to a deep passion for the varied cultures, landscapes and wildlife that exist across the globe.