Uuganbadrakh Oyunkhishig is a Mongolian student currently working to conserve the long-eared jerboa in the Gobi Desert. After completing his BSc in Ecology at the National University of Mongolia, Uuganbadrakh registered to complete a Master's degree at this same institution. In 2006 he carried out research for the Steppe Forward Programme's community project on sustainable natural resource use and livelihood improvement.

Uuganbadrakh is very worried about the threats with which wildlife is increasingly being faced in the developing world.

For his Master's degree, and with the support of the EDGE Fellows Programme and a grant from the WCS Research Fellowship Program, Uuganbadrakh is carrying out research on the Gobi's long-eared jerboa. The aim of Uuganbadrakh's project is to determine the population status and distribution of the long-eared jerboa (Euchoreutes naso) within the Little Gobi Strictly Protected Area and develop a Conservation Action Plan containing detailed management recommendations for the species and its habitat.

Uuganbadrakh's project will identify the habitat requirements and preferences of the long-eared jerboa, and will determine the population density of the species within different habitat types as well as measuring food availability. Population parameters and the main threats facing the jerboas will also be analysed. In order to establish the relationship between the long-eared jerboa and other species within the Gobi ecosystem, a study of the composition of the small mammal community within the protected area will also take place. All of this information is vital in establishing conservation actions for the long-eared jerboa.