Medailonky lektorů

What is your field of expertise? 

My field of expertise is Ecology. My current focus is on the floral traits of plants and they interact with the environment.

Why did you decide to join the Open Science project? 

My main motivation behind joining the Open Science project is to spread awareness about my research on trait-based ecology to a larger audience. Through this particular initiative of the Open Science Team of hosting High-School students as interns, I believe it paves the way for new and exciting research ideas and avenues of exploration which will benefit scientific research in the decades to come.

How was your journey to science and to work for CAS?

My journey through research has been an interesting one. I started my own journey by studying the phenological patterns of trees in a plateau in Goa, India. This sparked my interest in Ecology which lead to an internship in the Himalayan mountains under Dr. Dinesh Thakur (Of the Institute of Botany of CAS) where we studied aboveground and below-ground plant traits across different elevations. This experience fueled my passion for ecological research and led to my current role as a PhD Scholar under the supervision of Dr. Zuzana Münzbergová. Through my research, I aim to shed light on the complex web of plant-environment interactions and increase our understanding of the fundamental processes in nature.

Profile in the Institute website: https://www.ibot.cas.cz/popekol/?team=manavalan-murugash