The key facts

  • Shakhlo Turdikulova was elected one of six TWAS vice-presidents following a vote of the academy's members
  • Her term begins on January 1, 2027; the council is headed by Chinese Academy of Sciences president Hou Jianguo
  • Turdikulova has been a TWAS member since 2025, directs the Center for Advanced Technologies, and took part in developing the first local PCR test and the ZF-UZ-VAC 2001 vaccine

Election to the TWAS leadership

Uzbek scientist Shakhlo Turdikulova has been elected to the leadership of the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), becoming one of the organization's six vice-presidents. According to Kun.uz, citing the Academy of Sciences,the results were determined by a vote of TWAS members. She is to take office on January 1, 2027, and has been a member of the academy since 2025.

What is known about the academy and its council

The new TWAS council is headed by Hou Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On the council, Turdikulova will take part in defining the academy's strategic directions, developing international scientific cooperation, and supporting researchers. The organization itself was founded in 1983 on the initiative of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Abdus Salam; it brings together leading researchers from 112 countries, including Nobel laureates. TWAS is a programme unit of UNESCO, with headquarters in Trieste, Italy: the academy supports the development of science in developing countries, awards research grants, helps train scientific personnel, and facilitates exchanges between research centres.

Who is Shakhlo Turdikulova

Turdikulova holds a doctorate in biological sciences, works in the fields of biotechnology, biochemistry and human genetics, and heads the Center for Advanced Technologies. While working on her doctoral dissertation, she conducted research at the membrane biology laboratory of the University of California, Los Angeles, and in 2025 she received a diploma in organizational leadership from the University of Oxford. Her research is connected with the study of the genetics of Central Asian populations and the development of biotechnology in Uzbekistan: under her leadership, the first local PCR test system for detecting COVID-19 and the vaccine ZF-UZ-VAC 2001, developed in Uzbek-Chinese cooperation, were created.

What the election means

In Kun.uz's assessment, the election of an Uzbek scientist to the TWAS leadership could create additional opportunities for promoting regional scientific initiatives at the international level and expand the participation of young scientists in the academy's programmes. This is the outlet's assessment, not a confirmed plan of specific measures; the practical consequences of the election have not yet been disclosed.