Marina Bento | Causal Inference and Experimental Design | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Statistics

Ms. Marina Bento | Causal Inference and Experimental Design | Best Researcher Award

Federal University of Minas Gerais | Brazil

Ms. Marina Bento is a dedicated Brazilian biologist whose academic and professional journey reflects a strong commitment to advancing ecological research, biodiversity conservation, and the scientific understanding of subterranean ecosystems. Holding an M.Sc. in Ecology, Conservation and Wildlife Management from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), she has built her expertise around the study of Neotropical bats, with a particular emphasis on cave-dwelling species in the Southern Espinhaço Range, a region of exceptional ecological and geological importance. Her research integrates rigorous ecological fieldwork with advanced statistical and quantitative approaches, enabling her to analyze species-habitat relationships, assess diversity patterns, and evaluate environmental and spatial drivers that shape the structure of bat communities. Throughout her graduate research, Marina conducted extensive, long-term field investigations inside iron-rich caves, areas that are both biologically unique and highly vulnerable due to expanding mining activities. Her pioneering M.Sc. project-“Diversity patterns of bats in caves of the Southern Espinhaço Range, Brazil”-provided the first comprehensive ecological evaluation of bat assemblages in this ecologically sensitive landscape. The study demonstrated that species turnover plays a dominant role in shaping community variation, while cave size, structural characteristics, and surrounding landscape changes significantly influence species richness and temporal patterns. The resulting publication in Mammalian Biology established Marina as an emerging researcher contributing high-quality scientific evidence to support conservation planning and environmental monitoring in regions threatened by habitat degradation. Beyond her academic accomplishments, Marina’s work serves an important conservation purpose: by revealing ecological dependencies and vulnerabilities within bat populations, her research offers critical insights for management strategies aimed at mitigating human impacts on subterranean wildlife. Her efforts underscore the ecological value of caves as biodiversity reservoirs and inform policies related to mining, land-use change, and species protection. Marina’s professional identity is grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration, field-based inquiry, and the application of quantitative methods to solve complex conservation challenges. With research interests spanning bat ecology, cave biology, biodiversity conservation, landscape ecology, and environmental monitoring, she has emerged as a promising scientist contributing meaningfully to the understanding of Brazil’s cave ecosystems. Her dedication to scientific integrity, conservation ethics, and evidence-based environmental stewardship continues to guide her work as she expands her research portfolio and establishes herself as a future leader in ecological and conservation sciences.

Profile:  Orcid

Featured Publication

Bento, M. M., Dias da Silva, L. H., da Silva, P. G., Dornellas, L. M. S. M., Pires, L. O., Auler, A. S., & Paglia, A. P. (2025). Diversity patterns of bats in caves of Southern Espinhaço Range, Brazil. Mammalian Biology, Advance online publication.

Dmitry Ponomarev | Causal Inference and Experimental Design | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Statistics

Dr. Dmitry Ponomarev | Causal Inference and Experimental Design | Best Researcher Award

Kurchatov Institute | Russia

Dr. Dmitry Ponomarev, Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, is an accomplished scientist and academic leader who serves as Deputy Research Director and Head of the Optoelectronics Group at the National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute,” Moscow, Russia, while also holding the role of Principal Investigator at Tohoku University, Japan. His career has been dedicated to advancing millimeter-wave electronics, terahertz photonics, and quantum optoelectronic devices, where he has consistently demonstrated the ability to bridge fundamental research with technological applications. With more than 118 peer-reviewed journal publications, contributions to 2 academic books, and 12 patents granted alongside 2 under evaluation, he has established himself as a prolific and innovative researcher whose output has been widely disseminated across international platforms. His scientific influence is evident in an H-index of 30 and more than 3,000 citations, which highlight not only the originality of his ideas but also their relevance and adoption by the broader global scientific community. Over the course of his career, he has successfully led 18 completed research projects and continues to direct 3 active investigations, in addition to playing a central role in 6 consultancy and industry collaborations that link academic knowledge to real-world applications. His research contributions include the realization of polarization-sensitive sub-THz detectors, ultralow-noise strain-induced terahertz devices, the pioneering development of a 64-pixel optoelectronic THz detector array, novel performance-enhancement strategies for emitters using plasmonic electrode designs, and the creation of sapphire-fiber microlens arrays with high refractive precision. Beyond his technical achievements, Dr. Ponomarev has made significant service contributions to the academic community, holding 10 editorial appointments, mentoring doctoral students, and serving as a member of scientific councils at leading institutions, including the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. He has built strong collaborations with world-class institutions such as Tohoku University in Japan, École Polytechnique de Montréal in Canada, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the United States, reinforcing his role as a global connector of expertise. His impact has also been recognized through prestigious prizes and honors awarded for his advances in optoelectronics and quantum photonics, affirming the quality, novelty, and societal relevance of his research. Combining leadership, innovation, and dedication, Dr. Ponomarev continues to shape the future of terahertz science and optoelectronics, while his academic profile, certificates, and supporting documents remain accessible through trusted repositories and official research links, ensuring transparency and verification of his professional achievements.

Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar | Orcid

Featured Publications

Gavdush, A. A., Zhelnov, V. A., Dolganov, K. B., Bogutskii, A. A., Garnov, S. V., Burdanova, M. G., Ponomarev, D. S., Shi, Q., Zaytsev, K. I., & Komandin, G. A. (2025). Insulator–metal transition in VO₂ film on sapphire studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Scientific Reports, 15, Article 3500.

Zhelnov, V. A., Rybnikov, D. D., Ulitko, V. E., Goncharov, Yu. G., Lavrukhin, D. V., Perov, A. N., Garnov, S. V., Ponomarev, D. S., Skorobogatiy, M., Zaytsev, K. I., & Chernomyrdin, N. V. (2025). Superresolution THz pulsed solid immersion microscopy. Applied Physics Letters.

Galiev, R. A., Ushakov, D. V., Afonenko, A. A., Pavlov, A. Yu., Ponomarev, D. (2024). Continuous‐wave two‐photon terahertz quantum cascade laser. Journal of Applied Physics, 136(19), Article 194504.

Zenchenko, N. V., Lavrukhin, D. V., Galiev, R., Yachmenev, A., Khabibullin, R., Goncharov, Y., Dolganova, I., Kurlov, V., Otsuji, T., Zaytsev, K., & Ponomarev, D. (2024). Enhanced terahertz emission in a large‐area photoconductive antenna through an array of tightly packed sapphire fibers. Applied Physics Letters, 124, 121107.

Kovaleva, P., Kuznetsov, K. A., Kuznetzov, P. I., Kitaeva, G., Safronenkov, D., & Ponomarev, D. (2024, July). Plasmonic photoconductive antennas based on Bi₂₋ₓSbₓSeᵧTe₃₋ᵧ topological insulators. In Proceedings of the International Conference Laser Optics (ICLO).