In September 2023, the results of a competition among graduate students to receive a scholarship from the President of the Russian Federation to study abroad were announced. From the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, this prestigious scholarship was won by Margarita Danilova, a graduate student in the laboratory for studying the ecological functions of soils.
During the winter semester of 2023, Margarita will undergo a scientific internship in the city of Changchun (China), at the Northeast Normal University and the Key Laboratory of Ecology of Humid Ecosystems and the Environment of the Institute of Geography and Agroecology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, under the guidance of Professor Donghui Wu.
During her stay in China, Margarita plans to establish partnerships with young Chinese colleagues - soil ecologists, and also give a series of lectures for Chinese undergraduate and graduate students on the diversity and ecology of soil-dwelling protozoa. She will conduct a master class on methods for isolating and identifying soil ciliates using modern laboratory equipment. In addition, Margarita continues to work on her PhD thesis and, as part of her internship, is mastering advanced methods of molecular genetic analysis of soil ecosystems.
“This internship is the first step towards establishing a long-term strategic partnership between IEE RAS, the Institute of Geography and Agroecology and the North-Eastern Pedagogical University in the field of studying soil ecology,” Margarita Danilova’s scientific advisor at IEE RAS, leading researcher A.S. Zaitsev, shares her plans.
In 2024, Russian and Chinese specialists plan to expand scientific cooperation, and Margarita’s internship is an important part of the planned joint research program.