Welcoming New Researchers

Three researchers, including those from abroad, have arrived to teach at the International Campus of Kozybayev University & University of Arizona. Today we met and discussed directions for further cooperation. For our students, this is a great opportunity to broaden their horizons and gain new knowledge, and learn from the best experiences of leading world scientists. Andrea Zuccolo and Dmitry Berillo will teach students of double-degree programs in the field of "biotechnology." They have arrived for 3 years.

Andrea Zuccolo is a professor from Italy. His work experience is extensive: the Italian University of Pisa, KAUST University (Saudi Arabia). For more than 6 years, he worked at the University of Arizona (USA) as a post-doctorate and then headed the bioinformatics analysis group at the Institute of Genomics in Arizona. It is especially gratifying that Professor Zuccolo will be engaged not only in educational activities but also in science, together with our scientists. His field of research is genomics and bioinformatics.

"I will try to continue to focus on my scientific interests – genomics. And I hope to do this to serve the interests of this country and this region. Because there are endemic plant species here that are of interest in studying their properties and sequencing the genome. I also know that you are making a lot of efforts to ensure food security, and I think that my area of knowledge can greatly help in solving this particular problem," shared Andrea Zuccolo.

Also, Dmitry Berillo, associate professor, PhD, will teach biotechnology to our students. His scientific and pedagogical experience is more than 14 years. He is also the author of 9 patents of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main vector of his research is the development of non-covalently crosslinked macroporous hydrogels, which can be successfully used for various tissue engineering tasks. Professor Berillo also has extensive experience in the development of cryogels based on various synthetic and natural polymers, which will help solve various problems of regenerative medicine. He has over 75 scientific publications in international journals with an impact factor, Hirsch index – 24 (Google Scholar). He is confident that significant scientific projects will also be prepared with colleagues from our university.

Saule Musorova, a promising plant genomics bioinformatician, has been employed to work at the Center for Agrocompetencies, which was opened at our university in collaboration with the Northwest University of Agriculture and Forestry in China. She is a "Bolashak" and "Talap" scholar. She studied at University College London and the University of East Anglia (Great Britain). She is currently completing her PhD in plant science at KAUST University (Saudi Arabia). Her professional experience includes work in various scientific institutions, including the Astana National Laboratory and an internship at Saudi Aramco.