Gábor Sramkó, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology, has received an exceptional international honor: the Mongolian Ministry of Education has awarded him the State Award for Outstanding Educator in recognition of his work to develop Mongolian-Hungarian relations and his contribution to education in Mongolia. The biologist and researcher, who specializes in the genetic conservation of endangered plant and animal species, has received the highest professional recognition, which is awarded to foreign nationals only in exceptional cases.
Gábor Sramkó is an evolutionary geneticist and assistant professor at the Department of Botany, Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Debrecen. His research focuses on molecular phylogenetics and phylogenomics, as well as reconstructing the evolutionary history of plant and animal species and contributing to their conservation.
Together with his research group, he has been conducting research in Mongolia since 2022 with the support of a scientific mobility scholarship. In addition to joint evolutionary genomic studies, they place a strong emphasis on training their Mongolian colleagues.
“At the request of our Mongolian partners, in addition to our joint evolutionary genomic research, we have continuously organized workshop-style training sessions for them. Together with my colleagues, we have always shared our knowledge with humility and as equal partners. Since this award is very rarely given to foreigners, I believe the recognition is a tribute to this direct and dedicated professional cooperation,” said Gábor Sramkó.
As a biologist and ecologist, Sramkó specializes in evolutionary genetics, or the study of the information encoded in DNA. Research into microevolution directly contributes to the conservation management of endangered species. In Mongolia, among other things, the researchers have clarified the taxonomic position of a rare pasque flower species. Their most iconic target species is the Mongolian saiga, also known as the saiga antelope, whose genetic structure they are studying together with a Mongolian PhD student studying at the University of Debrecen.
“Our goal is to gain a better understanding of the microevolutionary processes affecting the approximately 15,000 saiga antelopes currently living in Mongolia and to provide Mongolian conservation authorities with information that will enable them to plan more effective protection measures for this particularly important species,” the assistant professor emphasized.
In recent years, the research methodology has shifted from examining individual DNA segments toward studying the entire genetic material, or genome. In the case of the saiga, the researchers are currently working on producing a reference genome, which will make it possible to map local adaptation and genetic diversity within populations.
“Our clear long-term and future goal is to establish and promote genome-wide studies of wild, non-model organisms as widely as possible in Hungary and among our international partners,” the researcher added.
(unideb.hu)
