Vladimir Vladimirovich Ignatov is well known to microbiology experts both in Russia and abroad for his research in the biochemistry and physiology of microorganisms.

V.V. Ignatov began research in 1960 with a series of investigations of Staphylococcus – a causative agent of purulent infections and food poisoning in humans and animals. Those investigations were conducted first in the kafedra (subfaculty) of Biochemistry of Saratov Medical Institute and then (starting in 1967) within the walls of Saratov State University's Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biophysics, organized by V.V. Ignatov and transformed into a kafedra of the same name in 1977. V.V. Ignatov devoted 20 years of his life to the study of staphylococci. He completed a large series of investigations into the molecular bases of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms, and he analyzed the chemical compositions of the major components of the Staphylococcus cell wall (peptidoglycan, teichoic acids, etc.).

Under the 1979 Resolution of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences on the establishment of academic institutions in the city of Saratov, V.V. Ignatov was elected director of the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants and Microorganisms of the USSR (now Russian) Academy of Sciences (opened in 1980). He had been continuing to serve as the institute's director for more then 27 years until December 31, 2007. Having moved from the university to the newly established institute, V.V. Ignatov changed the direction of his research to the molecular aspects of the interaction between the rhizospheric microorganisms (mostly azospirilla) and the root system of wild and cultivated cereals. He developed a new scientific direction in the study of distance (mainly chemotactic), contact, and trophic relations between plants and microorganisms, and he created a scientific school of research on associative nitrogen fixation in Azospirillum bacteria, which gained international recognition.

V.V. Ignatov's research activities are reflected in more than 300 papers published in Russia and abroad, 6 author's certificates, and 3 monographs. He has been a supervisor for more than 40 dissertations. V.V. Ignatov's former students now work at scientific and educational institutions in Russia, United States, United Kingdom, and other countries of the world.

V.V. Ignatov chaired the organizing committees for prestigious international scientific meetings held in Saratov in 1992, 1995, 1996, and 1999-2001. He also served on the organizing committees for several international congresses, symposia, and conferences.

On V.V. Ignatov's initiative, Russian and international scientific schools for biochemists and microbiologists are regularly held in Saratov, as are consultations and workshops on important basic and applied aspects of the development and use of state-of-the-art biotechnologies.

V.V. Ignatov has never given up working fruitfully on training highly skilled biology experts. He continues to be a professor in the kafedra of Biochemistry and Biophysics of Saratov State University. A Research and Teaching Center for Physical-Chemical Biology, jointly run by the IBPPM RAS and Saratov State University, was established and is evolving rapidly under V.V. Ignatov's guidance.

Alongside research and teaching, V.V. Ignatov has been active in organizational and social work. At different times, he served as dean of the Saratov State University's Faculty of Biology, as chairman of the board of directors for Saratov's academic institutions, and as board member for the Saratov Regional Committee on Environmental Protection. He also was elected a deputy to the Saratov Regional and City Soviets of People's Deputies and chaired the branches, organized by himself, of the Academy of Sciences' biochemical and microbiological societies. He was a member of the Council on Science, Technologies, and Education, attached to the Government of Saratov Oblast.

In recognition of his extensive scientific and scientific-organizational work, V.V. Ignatov was awarded the Order of Honor.