Prof. Yuri Mazei (1st R) interacted with IHB Prof. YU Yuhe, principal investigator of the Research Group of Taxonomy and Ecology of Protozoa, IHB.

Prof. Yuri Mazei, one of the two visiting professors, mainly focused on the study of morphological taxonomy and ecology of Testate amoebae and flagellate. He was awarded the 2008 Gold Award for Young Scientists by Russian Academy of Sciences. Since 2008, Prof. Mazei has established a cooperative relationship with IHB Dr. GONG Yingchun, Assistant Professor at the Research Group of Taxonomy and Ecology of Protozoa of the Institute.  

In February, 2010, the international cooperation project "Biodiversity patterns of protozoa in large rivers: Testate amoebae and heterotrophic flagellates from the rivers Chang Jiang and Volga”, undertaken by Russian Penza State Technical University and Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IHB), was granted financial support from both the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

Dr. Denis Tikhonenkov and IHB Dr. GONG Yingchun collected samples besides the East Lake, Hubei province.

During his stay at the institute, Prof. Mazei interacted with IHB researchers on issues concerning with  experimental operation, field sampling and digital processing. Prof. Mazei also made a presentation entitled "Protozoan Communities in a Spatial Perspective: Morphological Approach”, explaining how unicellular eukaryotes, e.g. Testate amoebae, ciliates, flagellate, perceive the world and how they influence the major environmental index of community heterogeneity. Later, both sides expressed their hope to establish a more extensive cooperative relationship in the fields of mutual interest.