Another Kazakh scientist received an accolade this month, after 17-year-old Tomiris Abylkairova from Astana was voted into the final 16 of the prestigious international Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
The Breakthrough contest, an initiative of the Breakthrough Challenge Foundation in the United States, is a global science competition for young people aged 13-18. Held for the last 11 years, students are invited to create videos of up to two minutes in length that explain a particular concept or theory in the area of life sciences, physics or mathematics.
Abylkairova’s video has a Kazakh flavor, quite literally, as she uses her two minutes to discuss how fermented foods such as kymyz (horse’s milk) influence gene regulation.
Her animated video was among the top 16 in a public vote, sending her to the finals after receiving a high number of “likes” on the event website. Collectively, the 30 submitted videos were viewed more than 300,000 times.
Abylkairova, a student at Haileybury Astana School who also competes in national fencing championships, commented: “Representing Kazakhstan internationally is both an honor and a responsibility. For me it’s a chance to contribute to my country’s intellectual, scientific, and cultural legacy while engaging in meaningful global dialogue and research.”
She added: “I’m proud to help demonstrate that young people from Kazakhstan can make impactful, long-term contributions to the global scientific community”.
Isabella Leonel Lelles, also 17, from Brazil, was the overall top scorer in the popular vote, with more than 66,000 likes for her video on the protein folding problem. The videos of the 16 finalists will now be reviewed by a Selection Committee of esteemed figures in American science. It has not yet been announce when the committee will select the overall winner. The winning entry will receive $400,000, with the victorious student being awarded $250,000 in educational prizes.
Past Breakthrough Junior Challenge winners have come from Canada, India, Mauritius, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States. Alumni have gone on to attend institutions including MIT, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford.
All videos, including Abylkairova’s, can be viewed on the Breakthrough Junior Challenge’s website.
