Dr. Yuriy Pya, Chairman of the Board of the University Medical Center (UMC) at Nazarbayev University and a distinguished cardiac surgeon, has been awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Nazarbayev University. The appointment was approved by the University’s Managing Council.
The honorary title recognizes Dr. Pya’s outstanding contributions to strengthening academic and clinical collaboration, advancing medical education and research, and training the next generation of healthcare professionals. The Council also acknowledged his exceptional professional and scientific reputation, as well as his significant role in the development of cardiac surgery, medical science, and Kazakhstan’s healthcare system.
Under Dr. Pya’s leadership, the physicians and researchers of the UMC Heart Center have performed 104 heart transplants from deceased donors, including 98 at UMC, three in Almaty, and three in Shymkent. Heart transplantation remains the gold standard for treating patients with end-stage heart failure.
Dr. Pya also led the development of ALEM, an innovative organ preservation and transportation system that extends the viable storage time of donor organs to more than 24 hours. The technology has the potential to expand access to transplantation by increasing the distance organs can be transported while maintaining their viability. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described ALEM as “one of the most significant scientific achievements of the year.”
Dr. Pya is the recipient of Kazakhstan’s Order of Kurmet and Order of Parasat, holds the country’s highest labor distinction, Qazaqstannyn Enbek Eri (Hero of Labor of Kazakhstan), and has received numerous national and international honors, including the Patriot of the Year Award and the Golden Man International Award in the Doctor of the Year category. He is an academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
