Development is a priority – Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Altai State University is among the best practices

In October, MGIMO organized PRIORITY FEST 2023, a festival of best practices of participating and candidate universities of the Priority 2030 program. The experience of Altai State University “Coordination of a common agenda within the framework of strategic interaction between universities, scientific organizations and industrial partners in the production of biological products” was included among the 26 best practices in Russia.

Recall: to replace imports of biotechnological drugs, scientists at Altai State University, at the request of the leader of the biotechnological industry of the Russian Federation, the Sibbiopharm company, are developing recombinant producer strains and enzyme production technologies.

New scientific developments

Altai State University is successfully implementing more than 100 internal projects, and all of them are aimed at integrating science, the real sector of the economy and solving government problems: import substitution, strengthening the country’s technological sovereignty and training highly qualified staff.

The core of the target model for the development of the university is three strategic projects of Altai State University: “Agroecosystems”, “AgroBioTech” and “Health Saving”, which are implemented in collaboration with an extensive network of partners.

By order of the All-Russian Research Institute for Environmental Protection and the Sber company, within the framework of the Priority 2030 program, scientists from Altai State University carried out work to preserve the unique ecosystem of Lake Manzherokskoye in the Republic of Altai, where the largest ski center is located. A complex is being built in Russia. Biologists from Altai State University conducted cytogenetic and molecular genetic studies of a rare plant, the chilim water chestnut, which is listed in the regional Red Book. The transfer of several thousand water chestnut specimens was successfully carried out within the aquatic zone, which will allow the conservation of this species once the lake is cleaned.

The university nursery “Altai-Falcon” is working hard on the conservation and reintroduction (that is, the return to nature) of Red Book saker falcons. Of particular interest to scientists is the dark-plumaged saker falcon, the so-called “Altai gyrfalcon.” Laboratory staff are successfully carrying out selection work to isolate the dark form into a separate genetic group. This opened good prospects for the promotion of the national brand of the Russian saker falcon.

Biologists from Altai State University, within the framework of the project “Agromodels, unique biodiversity and natural ecological framework of the Altai Territory”, created a portable cytometer to measure the content of DNA in cell nuclei to identify hybrids and the purity of varieties of agricultural plants. The device will speed up the selection work in seed production by automating the process. After adapting the technology, it can also be used in medical diagnosis, to identify large somatic mutations in malignant tumors.

As part of the Priority 2030 program, scientists at Altai State University are also working on the project “Method for species-specific identification of oncogenic HPV types based on multiplex real-time PCR.” A new testing system has already been developed and is being tested that will accurately detect very specific types of human papillomavirus (HPV). In medicine, this will help to make an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of cancer, and for scientists these advances are important to study the mutation of oncogenic viruses.

Researchers from Altai State University work in collaboration with the Novosibirsk company “Imbian Lab”, which develops and manufactures domestic medical testing systems for the diagnosis of various diseases.

New educational spaces

Thanks to the Priority 2030 project, the educational environment at the university is being significantly transformed. The key direction was the creation of coworking spaces that aim to develop the creative and creative abilities of students. In 2023, “Boiling Point” was opened at Altai State University: here you can participate in events, try your hand at technological startups and improve your digital skills.

In addition, the Lexema digital studio begins to operate, equipped with cameras for broadcasts, a visualization and acoustics system, which will allow classes to be held in a hybrid format with the participation of foreign students. For more than a year, the EdTech Media Hub laboratory has been successfully operating at the university, which has become the regional platform of the student media center of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia in the Altai Territory.