Kyrgyz president recognizes fellow in science award ceremony

By Amy Juelsgaard, Program Associate

TechWomen fellows are leaders in the science and tech fields, and earlier this month, a fellow received national recognition for her work. Almazbek Atambayev, the President of Kyrgyzstan, recognized 2015 fellow Elmira Akmatova at an award ceremony for scientists on November 8. She and her colleagues, R. Nurgaziev and N. Dzhaparaliev, were awarded the Kyrgyz Republic State Prize in Science and Technology for their achievements in the field and their paper on “biotechnology means of diagnostics of infectious animal diseases from domestic strains.” Their paper presented their results in the field of virology and focused on the development of vaccines against smallpox in sheep and goats, rabies in animals, and diagnosing these infections. “This is the highest award of our country, and only few scientists and works (this year only two works for physicians and veterinarians) can apply from all sciences,” Elmira said. This award is only granted every two years. With the award comes the honorary title of the Laureate of Science and Technology State Prize, as well as the opportunity to receive a pension from the state.

During his speech at the ceremony, the Kyrgyz president highlighted the value of scientific research in Kyrgyzstan and the awardees’ additions to the international scientific community. Elmira currently works as the Acting Deputy Director of the Kyrgyz Scientific Research Veterinary Institute.

Proteus Digital Health hosted Elmira during the 2015 program, where she was exposed to the company’s approach to management, communication, collaboration and engagement systems; Elmira developed guidelines to improve these systems at the Kyrgyz research institute.