Gustavo Darrigran | Environmental Science | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Gustavo Darrigran | Environmental Science | Best Researcher Award

Dr. Gustavo Darrigran | Research Scientist of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council | Argentina

Dr. Gustavo Darrigran is a distinguished Argentine biologist and malacologist whose career has been centered on the ecology, systematics, and environmental impact of freshwater and marine mollusks. A Doctor in Natural Sciences (Zoology) from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), he has over four decades of academic and research experience at national and international levels. His doctoral thesis, “Aspectos Ecológicos de la Malacofauna Litoral del Río de la Plata”, laid the foundation for his lifelong research on aquatic invertebrates, particularly invasive bivalve species that have transformed South American freshwater ecosystems. Dr. Darrigran is recognized as one of Latin America’s leading experts on aquatic bioinvasions, focusing on invasive mollusks such as Limnoperna fortunei and Corbicula fluminea. His research has advanced understanding of species invasion dynamics, ecological impacts on native biodiversity, and bioindicator applications for environmental monitoring. Through collaborations with international organizations—including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Zoological Society of London, and the Encyclopedia of Life—he has contributed to global conservation initiatives, notably the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the Libro Rojo de Moluscos Argentinos (2020–2025), which he coordinated. A prolific educator, Dr. Darrigran has held professorships at UNLP’s Faculties of Natural Sciences and Humanities, teaching zoology, ecology, and conservation biology. He has also been an invited lecturer in postgraduate programs across Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. His mentorship has fostered a generation of scientists dedicated to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. His scientific contributions and leadership have earned him numerous honors, including the Científico Cultural Award from Prefectura Naval Argentina, the MercoPremio Award (Brazil), and recognition as an Honorary Member of the Félix de Azara Natural History Foundation. Dr. Darrigran’s career exemplifies excellence in research, education, and international cooperation toward the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems.

Profiles: Orcid

Featured Publications 

De Lucía, M., Darrigran, G., & Gutiérrez Gregoric, D. E. (2023). Diversity of non-marine mollusks in the southernmost Paranaense forest of the world. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 95(1), e20220212. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202320220212

Roche, A., Cetra, N., Nuñez, V., & Darrigran, G. (2023, April 25). Catálogo de las especies de Nudibranchia (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) de la Colección de Moluscos del Museo de La Plata, Argentina. Acta Zoológica Lilloana, 67(1), e2023-04-13. https://doi.org/10.30550/j.azl/2023.67.1/2023-04-13

Darrigran, G., Agudo-Padrón, I., Baez, P., Belz, C., Cardoso, F., Collado, G. A., Correoso, M., Cuezzo, M. G., Damborenea, C., Fabres, A. A., et al. (2023, March). Species movements within biogeographic regions: Exploring the distribution of transplanted mollusc species in South America. Biological Invasions, 25(3), 1007–1023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02942-z

De Lucía, M., Darrigran, G., & Gutiérrez Gregoric, D. E. (2023, January). The most problematic freshwater invasive species in South America, Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857), and its status after 30 years of invasion. Aquatic Sciences, 85(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-022-00907-x

Darrigran, G., Custodio, H., Legarralde, T. I., & Vilches, A. M. (2022, November 30). Colecciones biológicas y virtualidad: Un recurso para la enseñanza de la biodiversidad. Bio-grafía, 16(30), 17823. https://doi.org/10.17227/bio-grafia.vol.16.num30-17823

Miyahira, I. C., Clavijo, C., Callil, C. T., Cuezzo, M. G., Darrigran, G., Gomes, S. R., Lasso, C. A., Mansur, M. C. D., Pena, M. S., Ramírez, R., et al. (2022, September). The conservation of non-marine molluscs in South America: Where we are and how to move forward. Biodiversity and Conservation, 31(11), 2859–2882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02446-1

Ruchi Singh Parihar | Climate change | Best Researcher Award

Assist. Prof. Dr. Ruchi Singh Parihar | Climate change | Best Researcher Award

Assist. Prof. Dr. Ruchi Singh Parihar | CHRIST University | Bengaluru | India

Dr. Ruchi Singh Parihar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, and an Associate at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy. Her research bridges climate science, data analytics, and public health, with expertise in climate change impacts on human health, climate and atmospheric modeling, environmental epidemiology, and climate risk assessment. Holding a Ph.D. in Climate Change and Health from IIT Delhi, she applies statistical and dynamical modeling, remote sensing, and GIS techniques to explore the influence of climate variability on vector-borne diseases and environmental systems. Dr. Parihar is proficient in working with global climate models (GCMs), high-performance computing, and scientific programming tools, contributing to impactful publications in top-tier journals including Nature Scientific Reports, GeoHealth, and iScience. She has received multiple international research and travel grants from globally recognized institutions such as the NSF (USA), ICTP (Italy), IBS (South Korea), and Rutgers University (USA). As an active member of several international scientific organizations—AGU, EGU, AOGS, and ISNTD—she continues to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative approaches toward climate resilience, sustainability, and global health.

Profile: Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Parihar, R. S., Bal, P. K., Saini, A., Mishra, S. K., & Thapliyal, A. (2022). Potential future malaria transmission in Odisha due to climate change. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 9048.

Singh Parihar, R., Bal, P. K., Kumar, V., Mishra, S. K., Sahany, S., Salunke, P., & Dhiman, R. C. (2019). Numerical modeling of the dynamics of malaria transmission in a highly endemic region of India. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 11903.

Bal, P. K., Dasari, H. P., Prasad, N., Salunke, P., & Parihar, R. S. (2021). Variations of energy fluxes with ENSO, IOD and ISV of Indian summer monsoon rainfall over the Indian monsoon region. Atmospheric Research, 258, 105645.

Parihar, R. S., Bal, P. K., Thapliyal, A., & Saini, A. (2022). Climate change projections and its impacts on potential malaria transmission dynamics in Uttarakhand. Journal of Communicable Diseases, 54(1), 47–53.

Parihar, R. S., Kumar, V., Anand, A., Bal, P. K., & Thapliyal, A. (2024). Relative importance of VECTRI model parameters in the malaria disease transmission and prevalence. International Journal of Biometeorology, 68(3), 495–509.