About the PI

Brief Bio:

During my undergraduate studies, I visited Prof Robert A. Weinberg’s Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, US. as a summer student. After receiving my BSc degree, I won a competitive Cancer Research UK scholarship to enrol in a Ph.D. program at Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, Manchester, UK, between 2008 and 2012. During my Ph.D., I focused on the evolution of cancer-associated fibroblasts in breast cancer mediated by crosstalk of signaling pathways namely Notch, TGFb, and SDF1. Following my Ph.D., I did a postdoc at the Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, University of Manchester (UoM) for 3 years. My research there focused on the crosstalk of Wnt and Notch signaling and how they regulate each other. Next, I moved to the Institute of Cancer Research in London for the next 4 years where I switched my focus to cancer evolution and genomics to understand the underlying mechanisms of treatment resistance by designing experimental model systems consisting of large Hyperflasks, single-cell barcoding, and patient-derived organoids. 

At the beginning of 2020, I moved to Turkey to start my own research group in Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (METU) as part of an International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers Program administrated by TUBITAK. In addition to my academic journey, I am the founder and CEO of a start-up called HistoCan at METU Teknopark since 2021.

Awards (since 2020):

2024: British Council Study in the UK Science and Sustainability Award, Turkey.

2023: METU Prof Dr. Mustafa N. Parlar Foundation Research Incentive Award, Turkey.

2022: Molecular Cancer Research Association Award for Young Basic Cancer Researcher, Turkey.

2022: Aydın Doğan Foundation Prof. Dr. Ozlem Türeci and Prof Dr. Uğur Şahin Award, Turkey.

2022: Science Academy Young Investigator (BAGEP) Award, Turkey.

2021: Best Oral Presentation Award, VII International Congress of Molecular Medicine, Turkey.

2021: Turkish Academy of Science Young Investigator (TUBA-GEBIP) Award, Turkey.

2021: TUSEB Aziz Sancar Incentive Award, Health Institutes of Turkey, Turkey.

2020: The International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers, TUBITAK, Turkey.