Principal Investigator

Dr. Bahar Degirmenci Uzun

Dr. Degirmenci Uzun graduated from Middle East Technical University in 2010. She then received her MSc degree from Koc University in 2012. She obtained her PhD degree at University of Zurich in 2018. During her PhD thesis, she identified the essential Wnt–secreting stem cell niche in the intestine and characterized its roles during homeostasis, regeneration and cancer. She could achieve first author publications in the journals Cell Reports and Nature. She aims to identify the role of stem cell niche in pathological situations.

Master Students

Ilke Sarı

I graduated from Bilkent University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics in 2021 and started my master research under the supervision of Bahar Değirmenci. In my research, I explore the cell content of the colon in homeostasis/disease conditions and how cells maintain homeostasis. Specifically, I’m investigating cell circuits between the enteric nervous system and other cells types in the colon.

Nurmuhammet Satlykov

I have graduated from Bilken University, Molecular Biology and Genetic Department in 2022. I started my masters degree under supervision of Bahar Degirmenci in 2022-2023 Fall. My research focuses on progression of the fibrosis in the liver resulting in hepatocellular carcinoma and discovering characteristics of cells contributing to the disease.

Beliz Uzun

My name is Beliz, I graduated from METU Molecular Biology and Genetics program at 2022 and started my graduate studies as an MSc student at Bilkent University under the supervision of Bahar Değirmenci. In my project we are intending to characterize the interactions between Intestinal cells and immune system. We are specifically interested with the interaction of Enteroendocrine Cells and tuft cells with macrophages. Our focus is to understand how these interactions are regulated by biophysical environment and metabolites.

Melda Özge Oğuz

I have obtained my BSc degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Bilkent University in 2022. In order to gain experience in stem cell biology techniques, I joined Bahar Değirmenci Laboratory for a subsequent gap year after my graduation. Currently, I am a master’s student at BD Laboratory; working on a project that investigates the interaction between intestinal cells and native circulating stem cell populations in both organoid and murine animal models. I am also responsible for helping İlke and Beliz with their projects.

Alumni

Nagihan Gönüllü (MSc) – pursuing Ph.D in University of Zurich

Müge Bozlar (MSc) – pursuing Ph.D in Georg Speyer Hous

Deniz Esen (MSc) – pursuing Ph.D in University of Copenhagen

Dilan Akdogan – pursuing MSc in Bilkent University

Mert Demirdizen – pursuing MSc in Bilkent University

Interns

Eren Gürsoy – senior undergraduate student in Bilkent University.

Melike Alıcıaslan – senior undergraduate student in Bilkent University.

Dila Atikbay – senior undergraduate student in Bilkent University.

Zeynep Sena Çinal – senior undergraduate student in Bilkent University.

Hilal Öksüz – senior undergraduate student in Bilkent University.

Zeynep Su Yüzbaşıoğlu – senior undergraduate student in Bilkent University.

Kaan Zengin – junior undergraduate student in Bilkent University.

Kardelen Koca – sophomore undergraduate student in Bilkent University.