Our Experience Working in the Biotehnika Laboratory in Kraljevo, Serbia: New Knowledge and Unforgettable Impressions
By Alina Seidakhmatova and Klara Kursanbaeva
A note from our editorial team:
Collaboration with local professionals is an integral part of every international project undertaken by the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health. In Kyrgyzstan, Dr. Martin Gilbert has been working closely with local collaborators since 2017 to monitor wild mountain goat and sheep species for exposure to pathogens that threaten their conservation.
Our partnerships with the Ilbirs Foundation, a non-governmental conservation organization, as well as government agencies, including the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision and the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Veterinary named after A. Duisheev, bring together local experts in ecology, veterinary medicine, and wildlife management.
With support from the Wild Sheep Foundation, we have been implementing low-tech solutions that use filter papers to preserve blood samples from Siberian ibex and argali sheep. Rangers working in remote mountain areas collect these samples, which can then be transported to the capital, Bishkek, for laboratory analysis. While this approach offers a practical solution for collecting diagnostically valuable samples in logistically challenging environments, analyzing them requires us to adapt existing protocols to obtain reliable results from this new sample type.
In this blog, we hear from two of our Kyrgyz partners who traveled to Serbia to work with biotechnologists at the Biotehnika and Ellie laboratories. Together, Alina Seidakhmatova and Klara Kursanbaeva conducted experiments with the objective of optimizing the company’s competitive ELISA test to analyze wildlife blood samples preserved on filter papers.
Last spring, we traveled to Serbia and spent two weeks working intensively in the laboratories of Biotehnika IVD in Kraljevo. Biotehnika is a leader in the field of serological research, manufacturing medical and veterinary diagnostic kits, as well as in diagnostic tests and instruments based on fluorescence polarization technology. As biotechnologists, working in this laboratory was a unique opportunity for us to participate in the adaptation and modernization of ELISA protocols for our samples, while deepening our professional knowledge. This process was incredibly exciting and challenging, and the support of the laboratory experts helped us overcome obstacles and learn a lot along the way.
In addition to improving protocols, we gained valuable skills in serologic testing methods that will be extremely useful in our future work. The laboratory specialists generously shared their expertise with us, demonstrating how theoretical knowledge is applied to create effective laboratory solutions. Thanks to their mentorship, we gained a deeper understanding of the methods for diagnosing and analyzing zoonotic diseases, such as brucellosis.
However, our achievements at Biotehnika were not limited to the growth of our technical skills. These two weeks also gave us the opportunity to build strong interdisciplinary and international relationships. We made new friends and met like-minded people who are as eager as we are to contribute to the advancement of science and the protection of animal and human health.
Overall, this experience strengthened our understanding of the importance of international cooperation in developing effective diagnostic methods and controlling zoonotic diseases.
These two weeks in Kraljevo enriched our knowledge while giving us a new impetus to further develop our scientific and professional aspirations. We look forward to applying what we have learned in our work in Kyrgyzstan and continuing our cooperation on this important international project.
This research experience was made possible by the project titled “Advancing Diagnostics for Hunter-Based Surveillance of Wild Ungulates in Kyrgyzstan,” a collaboration between the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health, the Ilbirs Foundation, the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Veterinary named after A. Duisheev, and the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity and thank all organizations for their support and trust.
Alina Seidakhmatova is a biotechnologist and conservationist from Kyrgyzstan. She works at the Ilbirs Foundation, an environmental organization in Kyrgyzstan, where she promotes modern field monitoring methods in protected areas and studies diseases of wild ungulates. Alina holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a master’s degree in biotechnology, genetics, and genetic engineering. She is currently a first-year PhD student in biotechnology at Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University.
Klara Kursanbaeva is a biotechnologist at the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Veterinary Science named after A. Duisheev. Her laboratory research on brucellosis of farm animals aims to improve the diagnosis and prevention of brucellosis, thereby improving the health of farm animals and the safety of agricultural products. Klara holds a master’s degree in biotechnology.
All photos provided by Alina Seidakhmatova and Klara Kursanbaeva.