Ongoing Projects highlights BIMI’s research orientation and scholarly engagement by students and faculty.

Ongoing Projects

Research at BIMI is not an institutional afterthought — it is a living, breathing core function that runs alongside teaching and clinical work. Our faculty and students are engaged in original, clinically relevant research that addresses real health problems in real populations. The projects listed on this page represent our current active research portfolio. Many are collaborative, involving partner hospitals, international universities, and national health agencies.

Each project below is overseen by the BIMI Research & Publications Cell, has received approval from the BIMI Research Ethics Committee (REC), and is progressing on a defined timeline toward publication or policy application. We update this page quarterly — check back for new project additions and completion announcements.

Research Portfolio Overview

Featured Active Research Projects

AMR-KG1: Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in Bishkek Tertiary Care Hospitals

Principal Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurbek Askarov, Dept. of Microbiology   |   Department: Microbiology & Infectious Disease   |   Status: Ongoing — Year 2 of 3

This prospective, multi-centre surveillance study documents the prevalence, trends, and clinical consequences of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among bacterial isolates from three Bishkek tertiary hospitals over a three-year period. The study covers gram-negative organisms (including extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram-positive organisms (including MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus). Results are being submitted quarterly to the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic to inform national antibiotic prescribing guidelines.

Key Outcomes / Objectives:

•       Establish a Bishkek-specific AMR surveillance database — the first of its kind in the Kyrgyz Republic.

•       Identify clinical risk factors associated with carbapenem-resistant infections in ICU patients.

•       Assess compliance with antimicrobial stewardship protocols in participating hospitals.

•       Produce actionable recommendations for national antibiotic formulary policy.

TB-MDR-KG: Clinical Outcomes of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Kyrgyz Republic

Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Gulnara Dzhaksybekova, Dept. of Community Medicine & Pulmonology   |   Department: Community Medicine / Pulmonology   |   Status: Ongoing — Year 3 of 4

The Kyrgyz Republic has one of the highest rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Central Asia. This longitudinal cohort study follows 280 MDR-TB patients across the National TB Programme network, documenting treatment outcomes, adverse drug reactions, loss to follow-up determinants, and social factors predicting treatment success or failure. The study includes a qualitative component interviewing patients and TB nurses about barriers to treatment adherence. Findings will be submitted to WHO Europe and the Kyrgyz Republic National TB Control Programme for policy review.

Key Outcomes / Objectives:

•       Determine 24-month treatment success rates for standardised MDR-TB regimen vs newer all-oral regimens.

•       Identify social determinants (poverty, housing, employment) most strongly associated with treatment default.

•       Document the adverse event profile of bedaquiline and delamanid in a Central Asian patient population.

•       Develop a patient-centred adherence support intervention for testing in a follow-up RCT.

CVD-RISK-B: Cardiovascular Risk Factor Prevalence and Awareness in Urban Bishkek Adults

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ainura Mamytbekova, Dept. of Medicine (Cardiology)   |   Department: Cardiology / Internal Medicine   |   Status: Ongoing — Year 1 of 2

A cross-sectional survey of 1,200 adults aged 30–70 years attending Bishkek city polyclinics, documenting the prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, physical inactivity, and tobacco use — and crucially, the proportion of individuals unaware of their risk factor status. This study addresses a critical evidence gap: despite high cardiovascular mortality in the Kyrgyz Republic, population-level risk factor data remain sparse. A secondary component assesses primary care physicians' adherence to cardiovascular risk assessment guidelines.

Key Outcomes / Objectives:

•       Estimate age- and sex-stratified prevalence of all major cardiovascular risk factors in urban Bishkek.

•       Determine what proportion of hypertensive and diabetic individuals are undiagnosed.

•       Assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices around cardiovascular health in the target population.

•       Provide an evidence base for a future community cardiovascular health promotion programme.

MCH-ANC: Determinants of Antenatal Care Utilisation and Maternal Outcome in Bishkek Maternity Services

Principal Investigator: Dr. Zarina Toktomambetova, Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynaecology   |   Department: Obstetrics & Gynaecology   |   Status: Ongoing — Year 2 of 3

This mixed-methods study examines the social, economic, geographic, and system-level factors that determine whether pregnant women in Bishkek access timely, complete antenatal care — and how these factors correlate with maternal and neonatal outcomes including pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, low birth weight, and perinatal mortality. The study operates across three Bishkek maternity facilities and includes in-depth interviews with 60 women who experienced complicated pregnancies. Results will be shared with the Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Health's Maternal Health Division.

Key Outcomes / Objectives:

•       Identify the primary barriers to timely ANC initiation (before 12 weeks) in urban Bishkek.

•       Quantify the relationship between ANC attendance frequency and key maternal/neonatal outcomes.

•       Describe the quality of ANC services as experienced by women using standardised survey instruments.

•       Develop a set of actionable recommendations for improving ANC access and quality at the facility level.

MED-ED-SIM: Impact of Simulation-Based Training on Procedural Skill Acquisition vs Traditional Bedside Teaching

Principal Investigator: Dr. Aslan Bektenov, Dept. of Clinical Skills & Medical Education   |   Department: Medical Education Research   |   Status: Ongoing — Year 2 of 3

A randomised controlled educational trial comparing two approaches to procedural skills training in Years 2 and 3 students: (a) traditional bedside teaching with occasional supervised patient procedures; and (b) BIMI's structured simulation-based deliberate practice model with competency-based sign-off before patient access. Outcome measures include OSCE scores, clinical supervisor ratings, procedural complication rates during patient-based attempts, and student self-efficacy. This study directly informs BIMI's curriculum design and has implications for simulation-based training adoption globally.

Key Outcomes / Objectives:

•       Demonstrate whether simulation-based deliberate practice produces superior OSCE performance vs bedside teaching alone.

•       Measure the time-to-competency (number of supervised attempts required) for 8 core procedures in both groups.

•       Assess the durability of skills at 6 and 12 months post-training in both groups.

•       Evaluate student confidence (self-efficacy scale) and anxiety levels when approaching real patient procedures.

NCD-DIAB-PC: Type 2 Diabetes Management Quality and Complication Burden in Bishkek Primary Care

Principal Investigator: Dr. Gulzada Abdyldaeva, Dept. of Community Medicine   |   Department: Community Medicine / Endocrinology   |   Status: Ongoing — Year 1 of 2

An audit and outcomes study of 800 patients with established Type 2 diabetes mellitus attending six city polyclinics in Bishkek, assessing the quality of diabetes management against WHO / IDF management standards — including HbA1c monitoring frequency, blood pressure and lipid control targets, complication screening (retinal examination, foot examination, urinary albumin), and medication appropriateness. Secondary objective: document the prevalence of diabetes-related complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease) and their severity at the point of first documentation.

Key Outcomes / Objectives:

•       Determine what percentage of T2DM patients in Bishkek polyclinics have a documented HbA1c in the past 12 months.

•       Identify gaps in evidence-based complication screening in primary care settings.

•       Quantify the complication burden and its associated healthcare utilisation.

•       Develop a primary care quality improvement intervention for T2DM management.

PAED-NUTRI: Prevalence and Determinants of Stunting and Wasting in Children Under 5 in Bishkek and Peri-Urban Areas

Principal Investigator: Dr. Fatima Ryskulova, Dept. of Paediatrics   |   Department: Paediatrics / Community Medicine   |   Status: Ongoing — Year 1 of 3

Despite Kyrgyzstan's middle-income status, national data suggest significant pockets of child undernutrition, particularly outside urban centres. This community-based cross-sectional study assesses anthropometric status (weight-for-age, height-for-age, weight-for-height Z-scores using WHO reference data) in 1,000 children aged 0–60 months across five Bishkek districts and three peri-urban communities. Dietary assessment, socioeconomic profiling, and maternal education data are collected simultaneously to model the determinants of undernutrition in this setting.

Key Outcomes / Objectives:

•       Determine the current prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight in urban and peri-urban Kyrgyz children under 5.

•       Identify the strongest socioeconomic and dietary predictors of undernutrition in this population.

•       Compare findings with WHO global nutrition targets and SDG 2 benchmarks.

•       Provide an evidence base for targeting nutritional interventions to highest-risk populations.

Research Collaboration Opportunities

BIMI actively seeks collaboration with international universities, research institutes, and clinical networks on projects relevant to Central Asian health priorities.

If you are a researcher interested in collaborating with BIMI on any of the projects listed above, or in proposing a new joint research initiative, please contact: research@bimiedu.com

We welcome co-authorship proposals, data-sharing agreements, joint grant applications, and capacity-building partnerships.

Student researchers at BIMI may also apply to participate in approved visiting researcher programmes at partner institutions — contact the Research Cell for current exchange opportunities.