A prestigious competition brought a victory to a scientist from the SFSCA RAS
Doctor of Science in Biology, a researcher at the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of the Siberian Federal Scientific Centre of Agro-BioTechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterina Vladimirovna Nefyodova, became a laureate of the 'Akademina' competition – one of the most prestigious platforms recognizing the achievements of women in science, education, and the economy of the Novosibirsk region. The scientist won in the category “Doctor of Science”. The competition has been held since 2012 and traditionally concludes as part of the International Forum on Technological Development “Technoprom”.
Interestingly, this category only appeared in the competition in 2026 – before that, the 'Academina' mostly recognized early-career female researchers. Now the competition reflects different stages of a scientific career: from initial discoveries to fundamental achievements backed by top-level qualifications.
Ekaterina Nefyodova's work is focused on one of the most pressing problems in modern veterinary medicine - antibiotic resistance. In simple terms, the bacteria that cause diseases in animals are responding less and less to traditional antibiotics. This is a direct threat not just to livestock farming, but to people too, since resistant bacteria can end up in our food.
Ekaterina Vladimirovna studies exactly how bacteria form protective “biofilms” – kind of like shields that make them immune to drugs. And the main thing is: she’s figuring out ways to break through those shields. Her research lays the scientific groundwork for moving to safer treatment methods – without overusing antibiotics. The results are already being used in practice. Under the guidance of E.V. Nefyodova, new therapeutic formulations based on silver nanoparticles have been developed and patented. They have shown high effectiveness against dangerous bacteria—Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Streptococcus, and other infection-causing agents. The methods have been tested in real livestock farms. The results are impressive: animals recover faster, productivity losses decrease, and treatment costs go down. Essentially, the scientist has found a way to replace antibiotics where possible, which means the products are of higher quality and safer for consumers.
The international scientific community also highly values these developments. Ekaterina Vladimirovna's articles are published in top-tier (Q1) journals worldwide, which is the highest level of scientific publications. She regularly presents at major international conferences, and her work is recognized as both in-demand and cutting-edge.
In the “Doctor of Science” category, the award also went to Elena Shakhtshneider (Research Institute of Therapy and Preventive Medicine) – for her achievements in medicine and genetics, and Olga Bryzgunova (Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) – for developing methods for early diagnosis of cancer.