Shahlo Turdikulova has been elected Vice President of the World Academy of Sciences

Shahlo Turdikulova elected Vice President of the World Academy of Sciences

Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Shahlo Turdikulova has been elected Vice President of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) for Central and South Asia for 2027–2028, the agency's press service reported.

In this role, Shahlo Turdikulova will participate in determining the strategic directions of the academy's activities, expanding international scientific cooperation, and supporting researchers.

According to the Academy of Sciences, she became the first representative of Uzbekistan and Central Asia to join the leadership of the academy in its history.

The decision was made based on the results of a vote by TWAS members. Shahlo Turdikulova will join the academy council as one of six vice presidents and will assume her duties on January 1, 2027. She became a member of the World Academy of Sciences in 2025.

The new TWAS Council will be headed by Hou Jianguo, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Shahlo Turdikulova received the diploma of Academician of the World Academy of Sciences in October 2025.

Shahlo Turdikulova was born in Tashkent in 1973. In 1995, she graduated from the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek. Turdikulova is a Doctor of Biological Sciences, professor, and recipient of the Order of "Dustlik".

According to the scientist's profile on the TWAS website, Shahlo Turdikulova earned a PhD in biotechnology (2001) and a Doctor of Science degree in biochemistry and cell biology (2008). In 2002–2005, she completed postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Her research work is related to human genetics. She identified 1,450 genetic markers associated with 670 disease susceptibility genes and created a national DNA bank containing 24,000 samples. Shahlo Turdikulova also co-chaired the clinical trials of the ZF-UZ-VAC2001 COVID-19 vaccine.

Since 2018, she has led the Center for Advanced Technologies. From October 2020 to April 2021, she served as First Deputy Minister of Innovative Development, and then as Deputy Minister from April 2021 to January 2023. After that, she worked as Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation until April 2024. Currently, she holds the position of Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan.