Dean's Message

Massimo Pignatelli

Vice President for Medicine – Dean of the School of Medicine

Welcome to Nazarbayev University School of Medicine (NU SoM). It is a privilege to be the founding Dean of NU SoM and to have the opportunity to train Kazakhstan’s future health care professionals (doctors, nurses, public health specialists) and researchers. The School aspires to be a world-class institution and to generate and sustain excellence in health education and biomedical research by creating a supportive and stimulating academic environment where creativity, lifelong learning, and discoveries are supported and encouraged. NU SoM has been established in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, one of the major academic medical centers in the U.S., to serve as the academic hub of the Republic of Kazakhstan's first integrated academic health system. It is the Republic of Kazakhstan’s first US-style MD curriculum taught in English to educate future medical leaders in health care, education, and biomedical research. We are also developing an integrated biomedical research program with our international strategic partner, research centers (Nazarbayev University Center of Life Sciences), and our hospitals (University Medical Center) to translate fundamental scientific discoveries into clinical practice. Please take the time to explore our website and discover the exciting opportunities in education, research, and health care offered by the School to you as a potential student, staff, faculty, or collaborator.

About us

Nazarbayev University School of Medicine (NU SoM) was formally established in 2015 in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) to serve as the academic hub of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s first integrated academic health system.


In partnership with UPSOM and its academic medical center (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UPMC), the School launched the first graduate-entry US-style Doctor of Medicine (MD) curriculum taught in English with the goal of educating future medical leaders in health care, education and biomedical research. UPSOM provided support to develop up-to-date curriculum content, innovative delivery, and assessment tools as well as faculty development and mentoring program. UPMC support mainly focused on the ongoing transformation of the University Medical Center (UMC) and the development of residency programs in line with the international standards of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education International (ACGME - I).


One of the original strategic goals, when Nazarbayev University was established in 2010, remains the development of a model for health care services in the Republic of Kazakhstan by integrating research, innovation, education, and patient care.

Mission and Vision

Mission: The School is committed to educate and train the highest quality of socially accountable health care professionals, biomedical scientists, public health specialists who play a key role in patient care and health improvement and do cutting edge biomedical research and innovation to advance the understanding of medical and health sciences with local, regional and global impact.


Vision: The School aspires to be a world-class institution and to generate and sustain excellence in health education and training, biomedical research, innovation and health care by creating a supportive and stimulating academic environment where excellence, creativity, partnership, life-long learning and discoveries are encouraged.

Goal

The goal of Nazarbayev University School of Medicine (NU SoM) is to train physicians to become skilled and compassionate science-based clinicians focused on bettering the human condition, advancing the fundamental understanding of medical science, and are prepared to make a major contribution to the development of medicine and medical science in Kazakhstan. NU SoM-educated physicians will be:

  • Highly qualified physicians/scientists with unique knowledge of clinical disciplines who are able to apply their training in clinical settings to solve clinical problems and advance the scientific understanding of their origins;
  • Curious and creative individuals who are capable of using all available resources to address clinical and scientific issues and critically evaluate information;
  • Life-long learners who are able to determine the need for knowledge, innovation, and new approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease and to translate these approaches into clinical practice;
  • Physicians who understand the sociological, psychological, and economic issues related to the patient, his/her family, and society as a whole;
  • Future leaders who are dedicated to medicine and the improvement of health care in Kazakhstan and who are capable of assuming leadership positions in various fields of biomedicine, education, and science.
NU SoM 360 Virtual Tour
5/1 Kerey and Zhanibek Khandar Str.,
Astana city, Republic of Kazakhstan