Doctor of Biological Sciences (1988), Professor (2002), renowned virologist, Director of the Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (1995-2008), Academic Secretary of the Department of Biological and Medical Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2002-2003). Born on November 11, 1953, in Almaty. He graduated from Secondary School No. 40 in Almaty in 1969 and entered S.M. Kirov Kazakh State University. In 1975, he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Biology, Department of Microbiology. He began scientific research in the third year at the Laboratory of Virus Biochemistry at the Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, led by Doctor of Biological Sciences, State Prize laureate of Kazakhstan E.S. Isaeva. Always active and determined, Vladimir Berezin, as remembered by Academician M.Kh. Shigaeva, managed to excel in everything: in education, science, and music. His artistic talent and musicality found expression in the vocal-instrumental ensemble "Bigle," but science remained Vladimir's main focus. In 1975, he was employed at the Laboratory of Virus Biochemistry at the Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR as a senior laboratory assistant. In 1978, he successfully passed a competition for the position of junior researcher, entered correspondence postgraduate studies, and was sent to the Laboratory of Physico-Chemical Research Methods at the D.I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, where he conducted research on the biological role of oligosaccharide chains of glycoproteins of the influenza virus under the supervision of Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor I.G. Kharitonenkov. In 1980, he successfully defended his candidate dissertation in virology in Moscow. From 1981 to 1983, he worked at the Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR as a scientific researcher in the Laboratory of Virus Biochemistry and continued scientific research in the field of studying the biological properties of structural components of the influenza virus. In 1983, he passed a competition for the position of senior researcher and was sent to the doctoral program at the D.I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. From 1983 to 1988, he worked in the Laboratory of Virus Physiology (headed by Academician V.M. Zhdanov) and the Laboratory of Subviral Structures (headed by Professor V.M. Zaydes).
This period was particularly fruitful. V.E. Berezin conducted scientific research on the development of influenza vaccine production technology, creation of the first diagnostic test systems for detecting human immunodeficiency virus in the Soviet Union, study of the structural-biological characteristics of antigens of several enveloped viruses (hepatitis B, influenza, parainfluenza, Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis, tick-borne encephalitis), and development of principles for constructing subunit vaccine preparations. Upon returning to Kazakhstan, from 1988 to 1990, he worked as a leading researcher at the Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, organizing the antiviral protection laboratory at the institute in 1990. The main direction of this laboratory became the development of diagnostic and prophylactic preparations to combat the most common viral infections in humans and animals, including the creation of test systems for simplified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay diagnostics of human immunodeficiency virus, influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus, as well as the development of subunit vaccines against influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus, and avian coccidiosis. The results obtained formed the basis of the doctoral dissertation on the topic "Antigenic and Immunogenic Properties of Structural Proteins of Enveloped Viruses," defended in 1988 at the D.I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Visionary, initiative-driven, and well-educated, V.E. Berezin was appointed in 1995 by the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the position of Director of the Institute of Microbiology and Virology. Vladimir Eleazarovich developed new directions in virology, facilitated the establishment of scientific contacts with foreign scientists, and made significant efforts to raise Kazakhstani virology to the international level. From 2000 to 2002, he was a member of the Higher Scientific and Technical Council under the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since 2001, he has been a member of the commission for awarding State Prizes of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of science and technology. For several years, he was part of an international expert group and conducted expertise on scientific projects of INTAS and INCOCOPERNICUS. As a science leader, V.E. Berezin supervised five fundamental research programs in the field of microbiology and virology, six international projects under ISTC, CRDF, IPP programs, and numerous projects of republican scientific and technical programs. The main directions of V.E. Berezin's scientific activity are associated with studying the mechanisms of antiviral immunity formation, creating test systems and vaccine preparations for the diagnosis and prevention of viral infections, searching for new antiviral and immunostimulating preparations of plant and microbial origin, studying the problems of the emergence and spread of viral infections in human and animal populations, and developing principles of nanotechnology for constructing vaccine and diagnostic preparations. V.E. Berezin is the author of more than 230 scientific works, including monographs, the first textbook on virology in Kazakhstan, co-author of the Kazakh-Russian terminology dictionary on genetics, molecular biology, virology, and immunology. He holds five patents and 10 author's certificates for inventions. Vladimir Eleazarovich is fluent in English and has repeatedly presented papers at international conferences and symposiums in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Spain, Austria, and Canada. He is a member of several international scientific societies: the British Society for Immunology, the European Society for Virology, the American Society of Parasitologists, the European Society of Veterinary Virology. Under his leadership, one doctor and four candidates of sciences were trained. He is a scholarship holder of the State Scholarship for scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the development of science and technology and has been awarded medals "For Contribution to the Development of Science of Kazakhstan" and "10 years to the Parliament of Kazakhstan."