2025, June 17
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Nazarbayev University has officially opened the joint “One Belt, One Road” laboratory focused on treating brain diseases using traditional Chinese medicine. The lab has been established to strengthen scientific and medical cooperation between China and Kazakhstan.
Representatives from Chinese scientific and medical institutions, the China-Kazakhstan Center for Traditional Medicine, NU leadership, faculty, and Internationalization Department staff have attended the opening ceremony. NU Vice President Dr. Kadisha Dairova has welcomed the Chinese delegation and emphasized the university’s interest in attracting students from China:
“We have been very interested in welcoming students from China to study at NU. NU offers strong interdisciplinary programs, making it a perfect fit. We believe bringing Chinese students here creates a win-win situation: talented students gain a world-class education, and China gains qualified specialists and researchers ready to continue joint work in medicine and AI.”
Dr. Gonzalo Hortelano, Dean of NU’s School of Sciences and Humanities, has highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary research in this collaboration:
“Our biochemistry lab has been working closely with a new hospital in China specializing in brain diseases and traditional Chinese medicine. We have been studying how brain cells react to these traditional treatments to better understand their effects and explore future medical applications. This is just the beginning.”
Dr. Hortelano has also noted the crucial role of artificial intelligence in their research, allowing them to analyze large data sets beyond human capacity.
The lab opening has coincided with the China–Central Asia Business Cooperation Forum during the second China–Central Asia Summit. An agreement to build and develop the lab has been signed between Kazakhstan and Shaanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Rixos President Astana hotel.
The signing ceremony has included high-level officials from the Shaanxi Provincial Government and Kazakh ministries, along with academic leaders from both countries.
The project has received strong support from China’s Ministry of Science and Technology and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has been featured as a key initiative in the forum’s program for international scientific cooperation.
