Alexander Veraksa, winner of the 2019 Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists
The prize was awarded for longitudinal cross-cultural research of the cognitive development of children of preschool and school age.
Alexander Veraksa was born on October 7, 1983 in Moscow. He heads the psychology of education and pedagogics chair of the Department of Psychology at Moscow Lomonosov State University. Holds a DSc in Psychology.
Scientometric indicators (publications/Hirsch index): WoS – 29/5, Scopus – 33/4, RSCI – 188/19.
Over a period of more than 10 years Alexander Veraksa conducted an extensive research in children’s cognitive and emotional development and the efficiency of education. More than 20,000 children of preschool and school age from 12 regions in the Russian Federation took part in the research. The results made it possible to build a mathematical model of cognitive development and prove its effectiveness in analysing academic achievements and the emotional development of children.
The original tools for the diagnostics of cognitive regulation created by Mr Veraksa made it possible to conduct a cycle of comparative longitudinal studies that revealed specific characteristics in the cognitive development of today’s children.
Special credit goes to Mr Veraksa for developing a system of cognitive means (chart, model, symbol, etc) that are used by children for resolving various tasks. This system makes it possible to draw individual trajectories for the development of children of preschool and school age with a view to achieving the maximum educational results.
Alexander Veraksa developed a methodological complex aimed at the cognitive development of children of preschool and school age. It was tested in different education subjects (mathematics, physics, physical fitness, etc.) in over 10,000 kindergartens and schools of Russia. This system has been introduced in education.
The results of Mr Veraksa’s research formed the basis of the supplementary education programme Key to Learning, that has been completed by more than 8,000 educators and over 106,000 children from Singapore, Poland, Thailand, the US, Britain, Wales, Scotland, South Africa, Puerto Rico, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Israel over a period from 2012 to 2018.
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Sergei Makarov, winner of the 2019 Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists
The prize was awarded for the development of a new platform for nano-sized optical devices on the basis of semiconductor nanophotonics.
Sergei Makarov was born on April 25, 1988 in Vladivostok. He is the Senior Research Associate at the Physics and Technology Department, ITMO National Research University. Holds a DSc in Physics and Mathematics.
Scientometrical indicators (publications/Hirsch index): WoS – 184/24, Scopus – 179/26, RSCI – 156/19.
Total number of patents −5.
Sergei Makarov’s research is devoted to the development of semiconductor nanophotonics, an advanced field of physics aimed at the miniaturization of optical functional devices.
Mr Makarov developed a new methodological platform for creating and using optically resonant semiconductor nanoparticles. This made it possible to increase by thousands of times the beneficial optical effects linked with the use of the energy of light that is interacting with nanoparticles.
The developed platform has become the foundation for a number of new optical devices that are much smaller than the length of a wave of light, which are designed for controlling light and nanodiagnostics. The results are promising for many fields of science and technology. Thus, they have a huge potential for increasing the speed of an optical signal, making much faster the work of near-field scanning optical microscopes, enhancing the efficiency of thin-film solar batteries and performing localised hyperthermy of cancer cells. Leading foreign companies and domestic organisations are interested in these developments.
The results which are published in major international scientific journals are of great practical significance because they can radically change the concept of making optical devices.
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Marina Shirmanova, winner of the 2019 Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists
The prize was awarded for achievements in the study of oncological processes using in vivo fluorescence bioimaging methods.
Marina Shirmanova was born on July 29, 1983, in Sergach, Gorky Region. She works as Deputy Director for Research at the Research Institute of Experimental Oncology and Biomedical Technologies of Privolzhsky Medical Research University. Holds a PhD in Biology.
Scientometric indicators (publications/Hirsch index): WoS – 85/15, Scopus – 103/18, RSCI – 140/16.
Total number of patents – 7.
Ms Shirmanova has conducted a wide range of in vivo research aiming to study the functional parameters of tumours and to develop new therapeutic approaches. Her research deals with important biological aspects of tumour growth, the understanding of which was made possible by modelling and observing a tumour in the conditions of a living organism.
Ms Shirmanova has developed a number of unique methods and research protocols using fluorescence and phosphorescence imaging (visualisation) that make it possible to obtain in vivo information about a tumour in its natural state. The results obtained have considerably expanded perceptions of changes linked with the neoplastic transformation (tumour transformation) of cells and tissues and helped scientists chart new solutions for effective tumour treatment methods. Methods developed by Ms Shirmanova can be effectively put into clinical practice for diagnosing malignant tumours and monitoring the treatment of patients.
On the whole, Ms Shirmanova’s scientific achievements facilitate a profound reassessment of experimental cancer research, considerably enrich Russian and international science with new fundamental knowledge of oncological processes, and offer new tumour therapy solutions.