The project “Integrated biomarkers for environmental monitoring and assessment of the impacts of the global climate change in Lake Baikal ecosystem” will be carried out under joint leadership of Prof.Maxim Timofeev, Director of the Institute of Biology, and Prof. Inna Sokolova (the University of North Carolina in Charlotte).

This work continues long-term successful cooperation between Irkutsk biologists and their American colleagues. Together Russian and American biologists have been studying reduction in competitive abilities of the Baikal endemic species in relation to potential invasive species provided that the average annual temperatures of the environment have changed. They have evaluated a variety of physiological and biochemical parameters of endemic species. The results of the project were highly recognized by the international academic community and the project was listed among the most successful international projects (Success Stories) ever supported by the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF Global). The new joint project will continue and develop the established successful collaboration between Russian and American colleagues.