Assistant Professor
UNC-Chapel Hill
Education and Training
2018-2023: Postdoctoral Scholar, Stanford University
2018: Ph.D. in Genetics, Development, and Disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center
2012: B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bogazici University
Areas of Interest
Regenerative medicine & bioengineering; Vascular biology; Developmental biology; Liver biology
Awards and Honors
2022-2024 Stinehart Reed Foundation Award, Stanford University
2022 Leading Edge Fellowship
2019 HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program finalist
2018 Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation finalist
2016-2017 Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine Predoctoral Fellowship, UT Southwestern Medical Center
2014-2015 Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Fellowship, National Institutes of Health
2010 Erasmus Student Placement Program Grant
2008-2012 Scientific and Technological Research Council Scholarship, Turkey
Research
My lab aims to identify the fundamental mechanisms of mammalian organ regeneration. While most mammalian organs fail to recover from damage and deteriorate over time, the liver regenerates: It grows back precisely to correct size within two months in humans and two weeks in mice. We utilize mouse genetics and bioengineered liver cultures in combination with light-sheet microscopy, confocal microscopy, single cell transcriptomics, and spatialomics to study the 1) cellular expansion, 2) cellular reorganization, and 3) the multifaceted signaling that enable liver regeneration.
Affiliations
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology
McAllister Heart Institute
Curriculum in Cell Biology and Physiology
