Thomas J. Matthews is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, a Research Member of the Azorean Biodiversity Group, Portugal, and a Visiting Researcher at the University of the Ryukyus, Japan. He is a leading researcher in the fields of macroecology and biogeography, and much of his research involves the species-area relationship in some form. He is also the lead-author of a key SAR software resource, and an Associate Editor of Frontiers of Biogeography.