Dr. Nyandwi Sylvain was born in the South Province of Rwanda in 1980 and attended Gasave primary school. In 1995, he began secondary school at Byimana Sciences School, where he specialized in biochemistry and completed his studies in 2004. He earned a scholarship to do his BS at National University of Rwanda, where he studied zoology and conservation.

In 2007-2008, he was president of the NUR environmental team. He is familiar with the Gishwati National Conservation Park ecosystem, having done research there for his dissertation: Impact of Human Activities on Distribution of Chimpanzees in Gishwati Forest Reserve. From July to September 2008, he was an intern at Karisoke Research Center, where he studied gorillas and other mammals.

After graduation he continued his work with the chimpanzees in Gishwati as a Research Assistant with the Great Ape Trust (Gishwati Area Conservation Program) under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Chancellor and Dr. Aaron Rundus from 2008 until 2010. The aim of this research was to determine the relationship between human activity and the monthly/seasonal ranging behavior of the chimpanzees, to investigate chimpanzee feeding ecology, and to determine how human activity has affected the health of the chimpanzee population.

At the beginning of 2011 he was promoted to the position of Research Manager for the chimpanzee program. As the Research Manager, he was overseeing the daily activities of a staff of six field assistants and managed the day-to-day operations at the field station. Starting in 2012 he was appointed to be the Vice President of Forest of Hope Association. He is one of founders of the Association.

In 2014, Dr. Sylvain completed his MS thesis in Psychology at West Chester University, under the supervision of Drs. Chancellor and Rundus. His thesis focused on how anthropogenic activities and seasonal fruit availability affect the nesting behavior of Gishwati chimpanzees.

In 2023, Dr. Sylvain completed his PhD in Human Paleobiology at the George Washington University under the supervision of Dr. Carson Murray. His dissertation research focuses on Female Chimpanzee Behavior and Reproduction in Forest Fragments in Rwanda.