Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research of Russian Academy of Sciences Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations, Arkhangelsk, Russia.

Y.V. Bespalaya (Director of the Institute of Biogeography and Genetic resources, Head of Laboratory), received her PhD in Biology (2007) on the fauna and ecology of mollusks in islands and continental reservoirs of Northern taiga in the west of the Russian plain. She is an expert in malacology and limnology, species diversity, freshwater mollusks, ecology, biogeography, adaptation, life cycles, phylogeny, extreme habitats, phylogeny, invasive species, and reproduction. She published 40 peer-reviewed articles in the fields of mollusk biology, limnology and lake sciences and participated in numerous field expeditions.