EDUCATION

Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

M.Sc. in Biology                                                                   August 2025

Thesis: “Development of Bioinspired Hydrogel Culture Systems For In Vitro Recapitulation of 3D Tumor Microenvironment.”

Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir, Turkey

B.Sc. in Chemistry                                                                                                                     June 2020

4th in class

Thesis: “Pixelated Colorimetric Nucleic Acid Assay.”

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Graduate Research Assistant   2021-2025

Advisors: Assoc. Professor Ahmet Acar, Asst. Professor Altug Ozcelikkale

• Developed a bioinspired semi-synthetic hydrogel platform for mimicking the tumor microenvironment.

• Development and optimization of the IPN network for co-culture systems of breast cancer.

• Characterization and optimization of the developed hydrogel system for cancer spheroid formation.

• Development and optimization of a 3D drug screening platform.

• Supervising undergraduate students

Izmir Institute of Technology, Department of Chemistry, Izmir, Turkey           

Undergraduate Research Assistant                                                                                2015-2020

Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Ümit Hakan Yıldız 

• Developed the BioRGB smartphone application to upgrade and enhance a colorimetric detection method.

• Led the development of the assay from concept to implementation, including design, optimization, and validation.

Duke University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Durham, NC, USA

Visiting Research Scholar                                                                                          Feb.-Aug. 2018

Advisor: Prof. Ashutosh Chilkoti 

• In-situ polymerization of non-fouling polymer brushes by SI-ATRP on various surfaces.

• Functionalization and characterization of controllable polymer brushes with varying sidechain lengths by SI-ARGET ATRP 

• Immunoassay design and fabrication

• Investigation of the reactivity of different brush coatings against plasma samples of patients.