Our Global Collaborations Are Growing: An International Cooperation Protocol Was Signed Between Our University and the José María Arguedas National University

Our university has taken another significant step toward realizing its vision of internationalization and its goal of fostering global scientific collaborations. A cooperation protocol covering the areas of scientific research, education, and academic mobility was signed between our university and Peru’s José María Arguedas National University (Universidad Nacional José María Arguedas – UNAJMA).

The protocol was signed by our Rector, Prof. Dr. Erol Yaşar, and the Rector of the José María Arguedas National University. Prof. Dr. Faheem Shahzad Baloch, a faculty member of the Department of Biotechnology at our university’s Faculty of Science, attended the official signing ceremony held in Peru on behalf of our university.

The signed protocol is considered an important step toward developing sustainable scientific partnerships between Turkey and Peru, particularly in the fields of plant genomics, biotechnology, biodiversity, and advanced molecular research.

The Genetic Richness of the Andes and the Amazon to Be Explored Through Scientific Research

The scientific foundation of the collaboration between the two universities is an international joint research project supported by Peru’s national research program, PROCIENCIA, in which Prof. Dr. Faheem Shahzad Baloch serves as a researcher.

As part of the project, the genetic diversity, morphological characteristics, and phytochemical potential of Muña plant species—collected from Peru’s Andes and Amazon regions and noted for their medicinal and aromatic properties—are being investigated using advanced biotechnological methods.

The research aims to examine these valuable plant genetic resources at the molecular level by integrating Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), genomic characterization, high-throughput phenotyping, and bioinformatics analysis approaches.

Press and Public Relations Department