Call for papers - Advancing methods in ecology

Prakash C. Mardaraj, PhD, WWF-India, Wildlife and Habitats Division, India

With over 16 years of research experience, Dr Mardaraj has made significant contributions to wildlife conservation, mainly through his tenure with the Wildlife Institute of India. As an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Bear Specialist Group member since 2009, he has commissioned members of the IUCN CEM WCPA groups. Dr Mardaraj specializes in livelihood and community development, human-wildlife conflict management, and community-driven conservation programs. He has led self-initiated projects supported by national and international organizations. Dr Mardaraj is also a People and Wildlife Research Group (PAW) member at the University of Reading, UK. He is associated with WWF India, managing the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) in Bihar.

Bhagwan Narayan Rekadwad, MSc, PhD, MCA, Yenepoya University (Deemed to be University), India

Dr Bhagwan earned his PhD in 2014 for his research on the prokaryotic diversity of hot springs. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at DBT-NCCS, he joined as an Assistant Professor, Savitribai Phule Pune University, often referred to as the Oxford of the East. He is an associate professor at Yenepoya Research Centre (Deemed to be University). Dr Bhagwan also serves as the Chairman of the Scientific Review Board and is a recognized expert for various international and national funding agencies. Since 2022, he has been consistently ranked on the AD Scientific Index (AD Scientific Index ID: 4509536). He is an expert in genome-based microbial systematics, evolutionary microbiology, sequencing, and bioinformatics.

Cindy Jane Smith, PhD, University of Glasgow, UK

Dr Cindy Jane Smith is an Environmental Engineering and Microbiology Professor and a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair at the James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow.  She is an environmental microbiologist who applies state-of-the-art approaches to unravel complex microbial communities and processes in natural and engineered systems. Her work is underpinned by carefully evaluated molecular approaches to inform evidenced best practice approaches to derive reliable data to inform a deep understanding of complex microbial processes.