Dr. Yuriy Skiba is the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Center for Biotechnology (NCB). A molecular biologist and biotechnologist, he holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and the academic rank of Professor, with expertise in molecular genetics, genomics, laboratory diagnostics and biosafety. Before his appointment he led the Center’s Almaty Branch.

He earned his degree in Biotechnology from the Faculty of Biology of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in 2007 and completed his PhD in Molecular Biology at the M.A. Aitkhozhin Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry in 2010. In 2025 he was awarded the academic rank of Professor of Biology by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

He began his career in 2003 at the M.A. Aitkhozhin Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, advancing from a research assistant to Leading Researcher of the Genome Laboratory. In 2017 he joined the Almaty Branch of the National Center for Biotechnology, serving as Head of the Molecular Biology Laboratory and then Deputy Director before being appointed Branch Director in 2023.

Research interests: molecular genetic profiling; genomic surveillance and drug-resistance studies of dangerous and high-consequence human and animal pathogens; the evolution and epidemiology of pathogenic microorganisms; diagnostic assay development; recombinant technologies; eukaryotic genome organization; gene-expression regulation; genetic engineering; and biosafety.

He has led and contributed to more than 20 research projects. Under his leadership, Kazakhstan’s first fully domestic PCR test system for SARS-CoV-2 detection was developed and registered, along with a range of other diagnostic systems for human and veterinary use. He is a co-inventor on national and international patents.

His work has been recognized with state and departmental awards, including the People’s Gratitude (“Halyq Algysy”) medal and a Letter of Gratitude from the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for his role in developing a domestic COVID-19 test system (2020); the “30 Years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan” commemorative medal (2021); the “Distinguished Health Worker” departmental badge (2024); and the “Best Researcher of 2025” award.