Mar Sobral

Mar Sobral is a Professor at the Faculty of Geography and History and a researcher at Idega, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). She was awarded the prestigious Leonardo Grant by the BBVA Foundation in 2025, one of only 60 granted from 1,623 applications, highlighting her significant scientific contributions in environmental sciences.

Her research focuses on ecology and evolutionary biology, particularly on how subindividual phenotypic variation—such as differences among leaves or flowers within a single plant—influences biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and responses to environmental change. She aims to integrate this understudied level of variation into mainstream ecological and evolutionary models, opening new avenues for understanding complex biological systems.

The Leonardo Grant supports her innovative project From leaf to ecosystem: The evolutionary and ecological power of subindividual variation, funded with 50,000 euros and a duration of up to 18 months. This project lies at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and systems biology, with potential implications for conservation and predictive modeling under global change scenarios.

Scientific Awards:

• Leonardo Grant from BBVA Foundation (2025)

As a principal investigator on a major individual grant, Mar Sobral leads independent research and may collaborate with institutions or individuals as needed. There is no mention of formal advising roles or grants beyond the Leonardo award in the provided text.

No specific laboratory or research team is mentioned, though her affiliation with Idega at USC suggests integration within a larger interdisciplinary research environment focused on environmental and geographical sciences.