Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Professor Shahlo Turdikulova, Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, has been elected Vice-President of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for Central and South Asia for the 2027–2028 term. She will become the first representative of Uzbekistan and Central Asia to join the leadership of the international scientific organisation.
The decision was made following a vote by TWAS members. Turdikulova will take office on 1 January 2027 and join the academy’s council, which comprises six vice-presidents. In this role, she will help shape the organisation’s strategic priorities, develop international scientific ties and support researchers.
Hou Jianguo, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will become the new TWAS president. Turdikulova was elected a member of the World Academy of Sciences in 2025.
TWAS was founded in 1983 on the initiative of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Abdus Salam. The organisation brings together researchers from 112 countries and supports scientific development in developing countries. It operates as a programme unit of UNESCO and is headquartered in Trieste, Italy.
Shahlo Turdikulova holds a Doctor of Biological Sciences degree and specialises in biotechnology, biochemistry and human genetics. She heads the Centre for Advanced Technologies. While preparing her doctoral dissertation, she conducted research at the Membrane Biology Laboratory of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2025, she received a postgraduate diploma in organisational leadership from the University of Oxford.
Her research focuses on the genetics of Central Asian populations and the development of biotechnology in Uzbekistan. Under her leadership, researchers developed the country’s first domestically produced PCR test system for detecting COVID-19 and the Uzbek-Chinese vaccine ZF-UZ-VAC 2001.
TWAS supports scientific research through grants, training programmes, exchanges of expertise between research centres and the promotion of science diplomacy. The election of a representative from Uzbekistan to the academy’s leadership creates additional opportunities for scientists from the country and the wider region to participate in international research initiatives.
