Dr Terry obtained his M.Sc. in 1964 from the McGill University of Montreal (Canada) and PhD in 1970 from the University of Illinois (USA). He then joined the Department of Biology of Njala University College (Sierra Leone). He has elucidated the ethiology and epidemiology of the cassava mosaic bacterial blight and anthracnose diseases of cassava and the virus diseases of sweet potatoes. He developed effective management strategies for the diseases now used throughout the humid tropics. He has served at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as Plant Pathologist and Scientist, Assistant Director then  Director of the International Cooperation and Training Program; at the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) as Director General and at the CGIAR International Agricultural Research and Science Centre as Director General of the Centre. He is the founding member of the International Society of Tropical Root Crops-Africa Branch (ISTRC-AB) and founding member of the Sierra Leone Agricultural Society. He has been Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor of the Proceedings of the ISTRC-AB. He is member of the Nigeria Society for Plant Protection and member of the American Phytopathological Society. He has 45 publications