2014 News
Crossing the Bridge - November 2014New research funding programs are steadily introduced in Turkey and Europe (EU). They also include various grants and fellowships promoting academic visits and brain circulation for which I am often consulted on the key differences and requirements. Therefore, in this article, I will be sharing the up to date fellowship programs that allow scientist/fellows to visit institutes in the USA and their requirements/commitments. full story |
Kadir Aslan on Nanotechnology and Medical BiotechnologyHuman hair, which is visible to the naked eye, has a typical size of 100,000th of a meter or said to be in the micro scale. Nanotechnology is defined as the manipulation of matter in the scale of 1 to 100 nm, or the nanoscale (that is, up to 1000-fold less than a human hair). Human eye cannot see the nanoscale matter directly and require special electronic and optical instrumentation to visualize them. full story |
Gokhan Hotamisligil is to lead the Sabri Ulker Center at Harvard with a $24M giftUlker family in Turkey made a $24M donation to Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health to establish the Sabri Ulker Center for Nutrient, Genetic, and metabolic Research. full story |
Önder Ergönül on Ebola OutbreakSince late spring of this year, we have been hearing two words in almost every news program; “Ebola" and "outbreak." Because of the importance of the subject, the editorial team of The Bridge, seeks to inform our membership body about Ebola virus outbreak. We reached Dr. Onder Ergonul, a professor of infectious diseases and clinical microbiology at Koc University and asked him some of the frequently asked questions. Below is our conversation with Dr. Ergonul. full story |
A Conversation with Ümit ÖzkanI grew up in Ankara, in a middle-income family as the youngest of three daughters. I attended Robert College and majored in Science. I then attended Middle East Technical University and received my BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering. After that, I came to the US for my doctoral studies at Iowa State University. After getting my PhD, I started my academic career as an Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University, in 1985. I went through the ranks and became an Associate Professor in 1990 and a Full Professor in 1994. Right now, my title is College of Engineering Distinguished Professor. full story |
Young Scholar Profile: Ayça Yalçın ÖzkumurMy favorite subject throughout my BS education in Bilkent University was optics, and it was a natural decision to proceed in that direction. I think having attended optics courses thought by two exceptional professors, Haldun Ozaktas and Orhan Aytur, had an effect in that matter. Having worked in various laboratories during summer breaks, I had a passion for experimental research. I came to Boston University for a Masters degree in Photonics, and stayed to receive a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering under Dr. Selim Unlu’s supervision. After a multidisciplinary PhD thesis, it seemed not that unusual to join Dr. Chris Love’s laboratory at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT for my postdoctoral studies, although to family and friends, the idea of an electrical engineer trying to develop an HIV neutralization assay was pretty puzzling. full story |
A Turkish Scientist’s Invention Could be the Solution for Ebola DiagnosticsEbola epidemic started in West Africa, and now seems to be spreading to other countries including the United States. Containment of the disease is vital for stopping its spread. However, with the current diagnostic tools it takes about two to three days from sample collection to diagnostics. full story |
Duygu Kuzum is one of 35 Innovator under 35Every year, MIT Technology Review selects 35 inventors, visionaries, humanitarians, pioneers and entrepreneurs who are under the age of 35. The candidates are nominated by the public or by MIT Technology Review’s editors. This year, there were 500 nominees, 80 of whom made the final round. The finalist were then evaluated by a group of judges based on originality and impact, or potential impact of their work. The "2014 35 Innovators Under 35" list also included a Turkish scientist, this year; Duygu Kuzum. full story |
Murat Günel to lead the Neurosurgery Department at Yale UniversityMurat Günel, MD, has been appointed as the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Yale University School of Medicine and chief of the Department of Neurosurgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. full story |
Young Scholar Profile: Ahmet F. CoşkunMy journey to curiosity began in my early college years at Koç University, Turkey. I started majoring in Electrical Engineering with the intent to develop medical devices that can save lives. I could have contributed to human health by attending a medical school, but I wanted to stay on the technology side of health research. This gave me the chance to approach biological problems with an engineering mindset. full story |
A Conversation with Esen Ercan AlpI graduated from Middle East Technical University, first studying engineering (BSc and MSc), and later physics. I then went to a place called DESY in Hamburg to learn nuclear spectroscopy as an IAEA Fellow. After finishing my PhD in Southern Illinois University, I joined Argonne National Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher 30 years ago, and I have been there since then. full story |
CROSSING THE BRIDGE – September 2014Turkish Researchers’ Performance in European Research Council Grants Last week, the President of European Research Council (ERC), Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, visited Turkey to overview Turkish scientists’ ERC performance during the EU 7th Framework Program (FP7) (2007-2013) and exchanged ideas on how to improve it for the ERC calls for the Horizon2020 program (2014-2020). The President of Turkish Academy of Science, the President of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), rectors and vice rectors of the Turkish Universities, Turkish researchers and university research administrations attended the meeting. full story |