Nikolay Tsyrempilov is an Associate Professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. In 2001 he defended his Candidate thesis at Saint Petersburg Institute of Oriental Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences. His Candidate dissertation contained historical analysis of some 18th century Tibetan hagiographies. In 2016 All-Russian Attestation Commission confirmed his Doctor in History degree for his dissertation devoted to the problems of interrelations between the Buriat Buddhist community and 18th-early 20th century Russian state.

Nikolay has published a few monographs and papers exploring the history of Buddhist communities in Tibet, Mongolia and Russia as well as the role of Tibetan Buddhism in political history of Central Eurasia and Russia. He is especially concerned with the issues of how Tibetan Buddhist religious institutes formed up and the ways the states influenced this process. In addition, Nikolay is an explorer of Mongolian and Tibetan written heritage having compiled a series of catalogs and published a few samples. From recent time his research interests include the history of the Oirats and the Dzunghar Khanate, sacred geography of Kazakhstan. 

Prior to his work at Nazarabayev University Nikolay spent 12 years as a senior research fellow of the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian , Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences (Ulan-Ude, Russia), member of Princeton Institute of Advanced Study (USA) and Head of History Department of the Buryat State University (Russia). Nikolay was a visiting researcher at Hamburg University (2002), Tohoku University (2002), Indiana University (2003), Central University of Tibetan Studies (2006, 2009), University of Hokkaido (2007-2008).

Currently Nikolay acts as PI of the research project aimed at creation of an electronic atlas of sacred geography of Kazakhstan.