Alexey Solodovnikov

Alexey Solodovnikov is an Associate Professor and Curator at the Natural History Museum Denmark, University of Copenhagen. Since 2022, he has led the museum's Zoology research section. His academic work focuses on systematic entomology with special emphasis on rove beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), the largest family of living organisms.

Dr. Solodovnikov's educational background includes graduating from university in Krasnodar in 1993, followed by obtaining his PhD from St. Petersburg State University in 1997. He conducted post-doctoral work at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago under renowned experts Alfred Newton and Margaret Thayer.

His primary research interests encompass systematic entomology, phylogenetics, taxonomy, and biodiversity patterns of rove beetles. As a systematic entomologist, he discovers new species, develops phylogeny-based classifications, and studies evolutionary, biogeographic and macroecological patterns of biodiversity. His work involves extensive study of institutional entomological collections and leading insect collecting expeditions globally.

Dr. Solodovnikov has published 137 research outputs, including 129 journal articles. His recent publications demonstrate strong trends in phylogenomics, integrative taxonomy combining morphological and molecular data, citizen science applications in entomology, and studies of specialized ecological relationships like beetle-mammal mutualisms. His work appears in prestigious journals including Systematic Entomology, Systematic Biology, and Journal of Natural History.

His scientific contributions are significant in advancing our understanding of insect biodiversity, particularly through methodological innovations that bridge traditional taxonomy with modern computational approaches.

Dr. Solodovnikov is actively involved in academic instruction and mentorship. At UCPH, he teaches Entomology and Terrestrial Zoology courses, previously taught in the Basal Arctic Biology course, and currently instructs the Communicating Science module in the UCPH-SCIENCE "Fundamentals" PhD course. He trains the next generation of zoological taxonomists through Master's, PhD, and post-doctoral level mentorship, focusing on developing sustainable expertise to identify, study and protect insect species, many of which remain undiscovered.

His research laboratory operates within the Natural History Museum Denmark, with international collaborations spanning multiple continents. The team combines traditional taxonomic approaches with cutting-edge techniques including phylogenomics, deep learning for morphological analysis, and citizen science initiatives to advance systematic entomology and biodiversity research.