Maria Alekseeva, a PhD student and a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Soil Carbon and Microbial Ecology, is among the winners of the 2024 Russian Presidential Scholarship competition for postgraduate and adjunct students. Maria has been working on her PhD thesis titled "Taxonomic Diversity and Ecological Strategies of Microbiomes in Chernozems and Chestnut Soils under Different Land Uses". Her research is supervised by the head of the laboratory, PhD Mikhail Semenov.
More than 4,500 applications were submitted to the competition, and 500 winners were selected based on expert evaluations. The winners were chosen for conducting scientific research aligned with the priorities of the Russian Federation’s scientific and technological development.
Maria’s dissertation is part of the laboratory’s state-assigned project "Study of Microbial Drivers of Sequestration and Deposition of Organic Carbon in Agroecosystem Soils" (No. FGUR-2022-0018) and contributes to the Most Important Innovative Project of National Importance titled "Unified National System for Monitoring Climate-Active Substances" (Consortium No. 4, "Carbon in Ecosystems: Monitoring," Agreement No. VIP GZ/24-4, dated March 11, 2024). The Presidential Scholarship supports postgraduate students and adjuncts engaged in scientific research aligned with the priorities outlined in the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation. Candidates were nominated by their scientific supervisors, and the winners were selected based on expert evaluations of the submitted applications.