Professor Apia Wilbaldi Massawe was born on 1960 in Rombo District, Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. She graduated from the Sokoine University of Agriculture in 1991 with a 1st degree in Agriculture. In 1996 she gained her Masters Degree in the Management of Natural Resource and Sustainable Agriculture at the Agricultural University of Norway. Professor Massawe received a Doctorate degree from the Sokoine University of Agriculture in 2003.

She was employed by the Sokoine University of Agriculture in 2003 as Research Fellow and currently she is Associate Research Professor in the field of rodent pest ecology and Management. Her main research interest is the study of impact of different agricultural practice on rodent population ecology and the studies on ecologically based rodent management. She has published many research articles on this topic, has published numerous articles in peer reviewed scientific journals and book chapters.

Prof Massawe served as the Deputy Director of the Pest Management Centre of the Sokoine University of Agriculture from July 2011 to June 2014, she was the Director of the Pest Management Centre from July 2014 to June 2017. Currently Prof Massawe is the Centre Leader for the African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development (A project funded by the World Bank).