LAB MEMBERS
Associate Prof. Dr. Timuçin Avşar
Principal Investigator
Dr. Timuçin AVŞAR graduated from Istanbul Technical University, Molecular Biology and Genetics Program in 2007 and completed the Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biotechnology Master program in 2009 Then, he continued his Ph.D. at the same department and completed his graduation in 2015. During his Ph.D. studies he focused on two main areas; multiple sclerosis and brain tumors. He studied different brain tumors and vascular anomalies at this laboratory. During his Ph.D., he visited many laboratories in both Germany and United States for collaborations.
Dr. Asuman Çelebi
Dr. Asuman ÇELEBİ graduated from Biology Program of Selçuk University. Then she completed Medical Biology and Genetic master program. She completed her PhD program at the Genetics Department of Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Istanbul University. During her master's and doctoral studies, she worked on molecular mechanisms in breast cancer and head and neck cancers. She continues her studies on therapeutic approaches against Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and NADPH metabolism in cancers.
Dr. Muhlis Akman
Dr. Muhlis Akman earned his degree from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Anadolu University before completing a Master’s program in Medical Pharmacology at Akdeniz University. He then pursued a PhD in Molecular Medicine at the Department of Oncology, University of Torino, Italy. During his master's and doctoral studies, his research focused on the molecular mechanisms of various cancer models, particularly chemo- and immuno-resistance. As a postdoctoral researcher, he explores phenotype changes in both cancer and immune cells, integrating bioinformatics analyses with in vivo and in vitro experiments
Müge Didem Orhan, PhD C.
Müge Didem ORHAN was graduated from Sabancı University, Molecular Biology, Bioscience and Bioengineering program. She completed her Molecular Biology and Genetic master program from Gebze Technical University and studied in the bio-characterization and effect of asparaginase isolated from Geobacillus Thermofilic thermofilic bacteria on cancer cells.Now she is completing her PhD in ongoing TUBITAK 1001 project entitled as " Identifying Novel IL-17A Inhibitors from Small Molecule Databases and Investigation of Their Effects on Suppression of Inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis by In Vitro and In Vivo Methods." Also, she worked in several impactful researches in BCL2, MDM2, USP7, hippo pathway mechanisms and SARS-covid during her PhD .
Aylin Yaşar, MSc.
Aylin Yaşar successfully completed Gebze Technical University, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, in 2020. During her undergraduate education, she completed voluntary and compulsory internship training at Bahçeşehir University and Yeditepe University Research Laboratories. She started her master's degree in 2020 at Gebze Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and completed her master's degree in 2022. She is currently a PhD student in Bahcesehir University, Neuroscience program. She also works as an Administrative Assistant at Bahcesehir University, Faculty of Pharmacy. She aims to focus on the development of new therapeutic agents against meningioma as the subject of her thesis.
Beyza Öztürk, MSc.
Beyza Öztürk Sever, graduated from Yıldız Technical University, Molecular Biology and Genetics Program in 2021. During her bachelor’s years, she worked at İstanbul University, Capa Faculty of Medicine, DETAE Neuroscience Laboratory and İstanbul University, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Brain and Neurodegenerative Disorders Research Laboratory as an intern. She worked at Next Genetic Center as a molecular biologist from 2020 to 2021. She is currently a master’s student in Bahcesehir University, Neuroscience program and a member of Avşar Lab since 2021. She focuses on neurodegenerative disorders and neuro-oncology. Now, she is conducting a study about “Effects of Exportin-1 gene inhibitors on gliomas”.
Maide Nur Paksoy, MSc.
Maide Nur Paksoy Korkudur graduated from Istanbul Kültür University with a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics in 2017. In 2018, she started her Master’s in the Neuroscience program at Bahçeşehir University, where she completed her thesis on liquid biopsy in gliomas. Additionally, she had the opportunity to study on MDM2 inhibitors. She gained experience in mutation detection studies using fast and rapid q-PCR techniques.
After completing her Master’s in 2021, she worked as a Project Coordinator in clinical trials. Over three years, she was involved in Phase II, Phase III, and post-marketing surveillance studies. Following this, she worked as a Project Manager but left her position to pursue a Ph.D. During this period, she gained extensive experience in various areas, including ethics committee applications and regulatory submissions. Since September 2024, she has been continuing her Ph.D. studies at Avşar Lab
Sarah Moghaddam
Sara graduated from IAUTMU, BSc of Cellular and Molecular Biology. Enthusiastic and dedicated neuroscience master's student with a strong foundation in cellular and molecular biology, as well as research methodologies. She is seeking opportunities to leverage her academic knowledge and research experience to contribute to cutting-edge projects in neuroscience. During her bachelor’s, she worked on early-stages diagnosis of breast cancer using cancer stem cells.
She is particularly interested in working on the evaluation of the role of novel prognostic regulatory axis, exploring the involvement of miRNA and long non-coding RNA in tumorigenesis and GBM progression.
Nur Kısa
Nur Kısa graduated from Yıldız Technical University, Molecular Biology and Genetics undergraduate program in 2023. During her undergraduate period, she conducted studies on oxidative stress in breast cancer. She started her master's degree education in Molecular Biology and Genetics program in 2024. She is currently conducting hypoxia and sma modeling studies in brain tumors. She also conducts studies on drug carrier systems in temozolomide-resistant glioblastoma cells.
Elvan Heybeli
Elvan received her B.A. from Northwestern University in 2022 double majoring in biological sciences (with a concentration in molecular neurobiology) and psychology. During her undergraduate years she worked as a volunteer research assistant at Neonatologist Dr Maria Dizon’s Lab in the Feinberg School of Medicine. The laboratory’s work focused on the impact of mechanical ventilation in the oligodendrocyte differentiation of neonates as well as understanding the molecular mechanisms of ischemia related white matter injury in preterm babies. She is currently focusing on her thesis which pertains to finding ways to overcome treatment resistance in IDH mutant grade 4 astrocytoma and glioblastoma. She hopes to advance her academic career by focusing on molecular neuro-oncology.
Alp Kuşçu
Alp Kuşcu is a senior molecular biology & genetics student at Bahçeşehir University. His focus leans on molecular neurobiology, continuing his research on the human lineage specific interaction between PAX6 and NCAM1 in glioblastoma and neuronal cells, exploring species-specific regulatory mechanisms that contribute to neural complexity at Avşar Lab. He seeks to advance his academic career in molecular neuroscience.
Ezgi Vural
Ezgi Vural, a 2nd-year undergraduate medical student at Bahçeşehir University, has been honored with awards from TUBITAK's 2209-A Program and BAUTTO (Technology Transfer Office/BAU) for her project investigating the use of E2F3 gene silencing by microRNA-449a as an anti-cancer therapy in glial cancer cells. She aspires to further her studies in oncology, focusing on various types of cancer.
Atilla KAYAŞ
Atilla KAYAŞ is a 3rd year undergraduate medical student in Bahçeşehir University. He was awarded a research grant by Tubitak's 2209-A program for his project in the investigation of low cancer incidence in Huntington patients. He aims to uncover the molecular basis of the observed lower incidence by studying the molecular interactions of mutant Huntingtin.
Doruk Yıldız
Doruk Yıldız is a third-year medical student at Bahçeşehir University School of Medicine. His main interests are neurologic diseases, brain tumors, and their genetic background. He has a funded research project from TÜBİTAK with the code 1919B012320689, and his research is on the combined treatment effectivity with tenofovir and hydroxyurea on U87-MG glioblastoma cell lines due to their synergistic effects on the inhibition of telomerase enzyme in the cancer cells. He seeks to be a good clinician and a scientist who contributes to the knowledge of genetic neural complexity and advances his career in the field of neurology in medicine.
Sudem Akyürek
Sudem Akyürek is a 2nd year undergraduate medical student in Bahçeşehir University. She is observing ongoing experiments in the lab and gaining insights into advanced genetic techniques. She conducts literature reviews and supporting her research. Her goal is to contribute a deeper understanding of the genetic mechanisms behind drug resistance and tumor development.
Ayşe Han
Ayşe Han is a 2022 graduate of the Molecular Biology and Genetics undergraduate program from Bahçeşehir University. In her undergraduate capstone project, she explored the molecular and physiological changes in schizophrenia.
She is in her second semester of the master’s programme in Neuroscience at Bahçeşehir University. Ayşe is interested in continuing her education in the field of neuro-oncology, following glioblastoma and its resistance to temozolomide and its rapid growth as the deadliest brain cancer.
She is currently enrolled in Avşar Lab to shadow her peers and gain experimental skills.
Layali Dhafer
Layali Dhafer is a master’s student in Neuroscience with an academic foundation in Molecular Biology and Genetics. Layali observes her colleagues to gain insights into various aspects of laboratory methods. She has a keen interest in autoimmune diseases that affect the nervous system.