PI



Assoc. Prof. Dr. Urartu Özgür Şafak ŞEKER

Dr. Seker’s Curriculum Vitae

Postdoc : MIT-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Synthetic Biology Center, Research Laboratory of Electronics 2011-2014

Singapore Nanyang Technological University, Electrical-Electronics Engineering, 2010-2011

PhD: Molecular Biology -Genetics and Biotechnology , Istanbul Technical University , 2009

Research Assistant (Visiting Graduate Student): University of Washington, Materials Science and Engineering, 2004-2007



Visiting Scholars



Dr. Burcu Gündüz Ergün

MSc: Biotechnology, Middle East Technical University, 2012

MSc: Biotechnology, University of Edinburgh, 2014

PhD: Biotechnology, Middle East Technical University, 2018

Food Engineer at Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Biotechnology Research Center, 2014-Present


 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ceren Özkul Koçak

MSc: Medical Microbiology, Hacettepe University Medical School, 2009

PhD: Medical Microbiology, Gazi University Medical School, 2016

Assoc. Prof. at Hacettepe University, Faculty of Pharmacology, 2021-Present



PhD Students



Recep Erdem Ahan – PhD Candidate

BSc : Molecular Biology and Genetics,  Istanbul Technical University, 2014

BSc: (Double Major) : Chemistry,  Istanbul Technical University, 2015

MSc: Material Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, 2018

Recep graduated from the department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in Istanbul Technical University. He also did double major with Chemistry. His main interests focus on bioengineering. He participated the iGEM competition in 2013 with iGEM team of ITU as president of team.In his free time, he likes to watch movies, hangs out with friends, walks the Istiklal Street with a coffee. Also, he is a daydreamer and enjoys to dream that he can fly without wings.


Merve Erden – PhD Candidate

BSc : Molecular Biology and Genetics,  Bilkent University, 2016

MSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent University, 2018

Merve is graduated from the department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in Bilkent University at 2016. Her main research focus is on biochemistry. She is interested in understanding the transcriptomic response of nanoparticle triggered toxicity. She aims to use the clues from transcriptomic data to build genetic circuits to overcome the toxic effects of the nanoparticles. In her free time, she likes to dance, watching movies and hanging around with friends.


Merve Yavuz – PhD Candidate

BSc : Molecular Biology and Genetics, METU, 2016

Merve has graduated from Middle East Technical University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Currently, she is working on developing synthetic genetic circuits to produce bacterial magnets within the cell for biomedical applications.

Besides science, she is willing to spend time with special children (with leukemia or Down syndrome). She loves music and enjoys playing violin, painting and reading novels.


Cemile Elif Özçelik – PhD Student

BSc : Molecular Biology and Genetics, Middle East Technical University

MSc: Material Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, 2020

Elif has graduated from METU, department of molecular biology and genetics in 2017. She has participated in iGEM team of METU in 2015 as an active member. She has an experience in cell culture applications. Besides them, she likes painting, knitting, fencing, and travelling.


Suat Tüçer – PhD Student

MSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent University, 2019

Suat was graduated from ITU, Molecular Biology and Genetics department. He got his MSc degree in Bilkent University MBG department and his main research focus was on immunology. He is now in UNAM to broaden his knowledge in biology related interdisciplinary fields in his PhD degree.
He loves nature and in his free time he likes to go camping and doing sport.


Senem Şen – PhD Student

BSc: Bioengineering, Ege University, 2018

MSc: Bioengineering, Ege University, 2021

Senem graduated from Ege University, department of bioengineering in 2018. She likes particularly the works that require analytical intelligence. Besides them, she enjoys doing yoga and chatting with her loved ones.



Aslı Semerci – PhD Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, İstanbul University, 2015
MSc: Medical Biotechnology, Acıbadem University, 2018

Aslı is graduated from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at İstanbul University in 2015. She has a strong passion to understand the pathologic characteristics of disorders and developing new approaches for diagnosis of treatment. Besides that, she has two startup experiences as a cofounder. Her motivation is using scientific knowledge for improving human life quality. She likes spent time in nature and animals.



Melis Karaca – PhD Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, İstanbul Technical University, 2021

Melis has graduated from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul Technical University, in 2021. She is mainly interested in biotechnological drugs and drug delivery. Her hobbies include singing, listening to Turkish Classical Music, doing yoga, playing tennis and bridge, and spending time with her loved ones.


Doğuş Akboğa – PhD Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent University, 2021

Doğuş has graduated from the Molecular Biology and Genetics Department of Bilkent University in 2021. He has been working in SynBioLab since February 2019. He was a member of the iGEM team in 2019 and 2020. He has worked on a variety of projects for SynBioLab throughout his undergraduate, his main area of interest now is synthetic biology applications for cancer immunotherapy. He is a bookworm, has experience in playing and coaching professional junior varsity basketball teams of Hacettepe University, Ankara University, and Turk Telekom, and loves making hip-hop music.


Ahmet Hınçer – PhD Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent University

MSc: Material Science and Nanotechnology, Bilkent University, 2023



Fayiti Fuerkaiti – PhD Student

BSc: Bioengineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 2016

MSc: Bioengineering, Hacettepe University, 2020

Fayiti Fuerkaiti is from China and his mother tongue is Uyghur and he also speak 3 different languages. Graduating from Shanghai Jiaotong University and came to Türkiye through Turkish gavernment scholarship program. After finishing master’s study from Hacettepe University he took a path in professional interpretation in government for two years. His motto is Hard work produces luck and success.



M.Sc. Students



Mehmet Emin Bakar – MSc Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent University, 2021

Mehmet graduated from Bilkent University Molecular Biology and Genetics Department in 2021, and he is a member of SynBioLab since February 2019. He is currently interested in engineered living biomaterials. He is a cinephile, a music geek, an economics enthusiast, a coffeeholic, and a snake lover. Spending time with his loved ones and pets is meditative to him.



Ece Avcı – MSc. Student

BSc: Biology, Middle East Technical University, 2021

Ece graduated from the Middle East Technical University, Department of Biology with honors. She was a long-term intern at Ankara University, Department of Medicine, In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory. She is now interested in applications of the recently discovered CRISPR tool in combating viral diseases. She enjoys baking and trying out new recipes. She was a classical ballet dancer for 6 years and a professional standard ballroom dancer in the METU dance-sport team.



Cem Dirse Polat – MSc. Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Middle East Technical University, 2022

Cem graduated from the department of Molecular Biology and Genetics of METU. He was fascinated by the complexity of biological systems starting from a young age and thus he decided to pursue a degree in this field. Now he is interested in synthetic biology and creating biotechnological tools to combat problems such as environmental pollution. In his free time he enjoys watching sports and playing video games.



Nazlıcan Tunç – MSc. Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Izmir Institute of Technology, 2022

Nazlıcan graduated from Izmir Institute of Technology, department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in 2022. She is interested in designing biosensors through genetic circuits. She likes playing video games, watching anime and folk dancing.



Abdurahman Atilla – MSc. Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Istanbul University, 2022

I graduated from the department of Molecular Biology and Genetics of Istanbul University. I did internship in Synthetic Biosystems Lab in Bilkent University. I was fascinated synthetic biology when I was a third grade student in university. My hobbies include playing video games and watching movies and tv series.



Damla Albayrak – MSc. Student

BSc: Biology, Middle East Technical University, 2022

Damla graduated from Middle East Technical University, Department Of Biology in 2022. She was a long-term intern at METU. She is currently interested in engineered living bio-therapeutics. In her free time she enjoys baking, painting, travelling and spending time with her loved ones.



Derin Akman – MSc. Student

BSc: Biology, Middle East Technical University, 2022

Derin graduated from the Department of Biology of Middle East Technical University in 2022 with honors. During her undergraduate studies, she performed three long-term internships in METU and in University of Cologne. Her passion and interest in synthetic biology brought her to UNAM. She is a member of Synthetic Biosystems Lab now, interested in developing living synthetic biosystems for biomedicine. In her free time, she loves to do yoga and trying out new places.



Aslı Doğruer – MSc. Student

BSc: Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent University, 2023

Aslı graduated from Bilkent University with a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics in 2023. She completed an internship at the SynBioLab during her last year of undergraduate studies. She is fascinated by synthetic biology’s immense potential to engineer novel biological systems for therapeutic applications. In her spare time, she enjoys reading books, dancing, and painting.



Alumni



Postdoc Alumni

Dr. Ebru Aras Hira (2019-2022)

Research with SBL : Engineered Bacterial Therapeutics for Metabolic Diseases

Current Position : Scientist at Harvard University Medical School Joslin Diabetes Center

Dr. Esra Yuca (2018-2020)

Research with SBL : Engineered bacterial biofilm proteins for living materials

Current Position : Assistant Prof. at Yildiz Technical University Molecular Biology&Genetics

PhD Graduates of Synthetic Biosystems Laboratory

Dr. Ebru Şahin Kehribar, 2021

Completed Ph.D. degree with SBL

Current Position:

CSO at Synbiotik Biotechnology/ CSO Omega Bio Diagnostics

Postdoc at SBL

Dr. Behide Saltepe, 2020

Completed Ph.D. degree with SBL

Current Position:

Postdoc at University of Edinburgh,

School of Biological Sciences, Wang Lab

Dr. Elif Duman, 2019

Completed Ph.D. degree with SBL

Current Position:

Senior scientist at Synbiotik Biotechnology

Dr. Tolga Tarkan Ölmez, 2017

Completed Ph.D. degree with SBL

Current Position:

Postdoc at Yale University,

Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, ACAR Lab

Dr. Ebuzer Kalyoncu, 2017

Completed Ph.D. degree with SBL

Current Position: 

Assistant Professor, İstanbul Health Science and Technology University (ISTUN), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics

Dr. Recep Erdem Ahan, 2023

Completed Ph.D. degree with SBL


MSc. Graduates of Synthetic Biosystems Laboratory

Gozeel Binte Shahid, 2024

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

Ahmet Hınçer, 2023

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

Pursuing PhD with SBL

Nedim Kurt, 2022

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

Researcher, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center  

Anooshay Khan, 2022Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position : PhD Student at the University of Cologne, CECAD (Aging Cluster of Excellence)

Çisil Köksaldı, 2021

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

PhD Student at ETH-Zürich Control Theory and Systems Biology Laboratory

Gökçe Özkul, 2021

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

PhD Student at Eindhoven University of Technology, Lab of Tom de Greef

Sıla Köse, 2021

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

PhD Student at the University of Konstanz, Hartig Group – Germany

Büşra Merve Kırpat, 2021

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

PhD Student at the University of Freiburg, Di Ventura Lab – Germany

Julian Ostaku, 2021

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

Phd Student, Medizinische Universität Graz , Austria

Eray Ulaş Bozkurt, 2021

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

PhD Student at Technical University of Denmark

Cemile Elif Özçelik, 2020

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

pursuing PhD with SBL

Özge Beğli, 2019

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

Radbound University, Netherlands

 
Musa Efe Işılak, 2019Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

Family Farm (not a joke 🙂 )

Nedim Hacıosmanoğlu, 2019

Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :

PhD Student at Bilkent UNAM

Onur Apaydın, 2017Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position : PhD Student Max Delbruck Centrum for Molekular Medicine – Dr. Suphansa Sawamiphak’s Lab – Germany

Tuğçe Önür, 2016Completed Master of Science  (MSc) degree with SBL

Current Position :PhD Student Queensland University of Technology – Australia

 


UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS

Ebru Çüren

Undergraduate Student (METU)

Current Position: MSc student in Biochemistry  at University of Bremen

irem Niran Çağıl

Undergraduate Student (Bilkent Senior)

Current Position: MS student at LMU Munich

Fatma Hilal Üstün

Undergraduate Student (Bilkent Senior)

Current Position: MS student at Heidelberg University

Azra Atabay

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc student at TU Dresden Regenerative Biology and Medicine

Simay Ayhan

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc candidate at University of Heidelberg – Department of Infectious Diseases

 Ayşenaz Ozantürk

Undergraduate Student (Senior)
Current Position: PhD candidate at Washington University – School of Medicine in St. Louis.

 

Nazlı Kara

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc Student at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Ezgi Dikici

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc Student at TU Dresden Molecular Bioengineering

Mehmet Ali Hoşkan

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc Student at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre

Ayşenur Deniz Çayırtepe

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc Student at Nagoya University

İlayda Şenyüz

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc Student at Bonn University

Tutku Muratoğlu

Undergraduate Student (Senior)

Current Position: MSc Student of Biomedical Sciences at KU Leuven