MY RESEARCH LABBOOK
Exploring the unknown drives my motivation for doing science. Facing the current biomedical challenges striving for the best solution defines my research purposes. Inspiring the biomedical sciences students for doing research defines my commitment to teaching.
ABOUT ME
Sharing a Love of Knowledge
I am an enthusiastic scientist working on immune cell and vaccine biology. My main focus is to understand migratory behaviors of immune cells and how to direct cell migration using mechanical cues. I am eager to develop novel immuno therapeutic strategies while decoding single cell behaviors on 3D microfluidic systems. As a devoted Bioengineer, I strive to pass my love of learning to my own students to inspire them become successful researchers. I have been lucky to have been taught and inspired by a number of mentors who have had a meaningful impact on my academic life. I am currently working at BiS-BioInterface Science Group, Eindhoven University of Technology at Jan de Boer Lab where I conduct my EuroTech project aDCMoviE.
Selected Projects
PROJECTS
Sultan secured funding from different agencies and has a very broad range of project experience.
OVERCOMING THE MIGRATION CHALLENGE OF EX VIVO TRAINED DENDRITIC CELLS!
March 13, 2020
TUe and EPFL researchers are working together to overcome the dendritic cell migration problem! Sultan is awarded by a Marie Curie co-fund project EuroTech to work on facilitating the migration machinery of ex-vivo trained dendritic cells via surface topographies. The project also includes the functional testing of migratory properties using novel microfluidic devices enabling us to control the chemokine gradients.
PUBLICATIONS
Selected Publications
I have been published in a number of leading journals and have gained a name as a leading voice in my area. I have been privileged to collaborate with influential senior academics along this journey.
THERE IS ALREADY A HUGE ACCUMULATED DATA WAITING FOR US TO DIG IN!
March 13, 2020
Why not do a systematic data analysis to find out common miRNA biomarkers for early cancer diagnosis? In this study, we examined different datasets of soft tissue derived cell lines to find out shared miRNA biomarkers in hypoxic culture conditions.
COURSES
Sultan has experience on full range of undergraduate and graduate-level courses. She taught a variety of classes spanning the introductory, intermediate and advanced levels of cell engineering, biocompatibility and cytotoxicity, recombinant protein production and bioprocess development.
APPLIED CELL BIOLOGY
November, 2019- January, 2020
Applied Cell Biology course was designed from scratch to promote active learning in the classroom. Our inspiration, as a team with Jan de Boer, to facilitate the higher cognitive skills to solve a real cell biological challenge made the backbone of the course design. For this purpose blended learning, challenge based learning and research based learning are carefully implemented in the course design. In addition, assessment for learning approaches were used including group projects and reports, peer review and peer grading and debating.
ANIMAL CELL BIOENGINEERING INTRODUCTORY COURSE AND LABORATORY
September 2013-September 2018
Animal cell bioengineering is an inevitable element in life sciences studies. Sultan redesigned the theoretical and practical courses related to animal cell engineering in Bioengineering curricula at Ege University. The theoretical part is including the basics of the cell culture including cell lines and primary cells. The origins of the cells, different requirements of the specialized cells, media components, transfection techniques, scale up techniques, microcarriers, etc. And the practical part is including the hands on training in the lab, cell seeding, passaging, freezing, thawing both for monolayer and suspension cells. Cell culture in spinner flasks and bioreactor systems.
RECOMBINANT PROTEIN PRODUCTION GRADUATE COURSE
Sept 2013 - Sept 2018
Recombinant protein production and DNA vaccine design are main research lines for Sultan where she wants to engage her teaching with research. Thus, she set up a graduate course about recombinant protein production. The main focus of this course was mammalian cell lines (CHO, myeloma cells) for biopharmaceutical production like growth factor or monoclonal antibody production. The selection of the gene of interest, cloning, selection of the host, transfection, lab scale production, expression control, large scale production, validation, quality control and related steps ae discussed. Each attendant asked for a project to complete from the beginning to the final product steps.
CYTOTOXICITY AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY GRADUATE COURSE
Sept 2013-Sept 2018
The cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of materials are the main features of the materials before heading into the market. Thus, it is very important to assess the toxicity of the materials by relevant in vitro models to strict the 3R rule as alternatives to animal testing. Thus, this course provides the basics of materials toxicity, which points to consider at preclinical and clinical development state, in vitro assay systems and more.
ORGANISATIONAL ROLES
Sultan had many organizational roles as an academician at Bioengineering Department, Ege University. She actively participated for organization of several congresses at Vaccinology and Bioengineering field in Turkey with different roles. These organizations had a great impact with a remarkable international participation and a big scientific audience.
2ND INTERNATIONAL VACCINOLOGY CONGRESS
May 24-26, 2018
Sultan is one of the founding members of Vaccinology Society in Turkey. She is actively participating in organising Vaccinology Congresses in Turkey with different roles and at 2018, as a scientific secretariat. Vaccinology is a very active and promising field of research as it offers solutions for personalized immunotherapies and no doubly solutions for deadly infectious diseases.
February 2020 -
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
Secured an individual project grant from EuroTech-Marie Curie Co fund in which the application and evaluation criteria is very similar to MCSA-IF. The independent referees are evaluating the proposal and given the scores. The project-aDCMoviE- aims to overcome the migration challenge of ex-vivo trained dendritic cells after given back to the patients. Thus, focusing on the improvement of advanced therapy cell medicinal products to enhance their immunotherapy potential.
March 2019 - January 2020
RESEARCHER/LECTURER
Appointed as an education/research officer to set up and execute the Applied Cell Biology course in Biomedical Engineering curricula at TUe with an ambition to engage innovational education tools into the course set up which is inspired from my willingness to translate basic bench results to bedside solutions in the field of biomedical engineering.
October 2018 - March 2019
VISITING SCIENTIST
Worked as a visiting scientist at Biointerface Science lab at TUe where she started to investigate the topography driven engineering of dendritic cells to enhance their immunotherapeutic potential and writing related grants.
May 2020 -
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Associate Professorship title in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering awarded by Turkish Universities Council.
September 2013 -
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Worked as an assistant professor at Ege University, Department of Bioengineering which is one of the best recognized Bioengineering Departments in Turkey. She was leading EgeBioTheranostics Lab has an alumni of six master students and more than 20 diploma thesis projects 11 of them are funded by Turkish Scientific Research Council. Secured several grants as a principal investigator and project partner. Responsible of giving several lectures in different levels of Bioengineering.
September 2013-
ACADEMIC RECOGNITION
Sultan is serving as a project evaluator for several European Commission calls at life sciences panels. In addition she is also participating to evaluate projects submitted to Turkish Scientific Research council. As well as she is peer reviewing for several biotechnology and life sciences journals.
March 2015 - December 2017
CO-FOUNDER OF EGEDIAVAC INC.
Co-founder of a start-up, EGEDiaVac at Ege University, Technology Development Zone, TeknoPark for development of recombinant ELISA for T. gondii other parasitic diseases’ diagnostics, responsible for assay development and documentation, fund raising. The licensed assays were sold to RTA Laboratories, Inc.
September 2012 - January 2015
VISITING RESEARCH SCHOLAR AT UCI, USA
Secured an individual fellowship awarded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) through Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programme to conduct my research at University of California, Irvine, Medical School, Protein Microarray Core Lab, under the supervision of Prof Felgner. My project was about the discovery of vaccine candidate antigens against Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus by using protein microarray scanning. The results of the project was awarded at International Society of Vaccines, 2017.
February 2006 - December 2011
PHD PERIOD
Sultan did her PhD at Bioengineering Department, Ege University, Turkey under the supervision of Prof. S. Ismet Deliloglu Gurhan. She worked in close collaboration with CReSA (Centre Research en Sanidad Animal), Barcelona, Spain under the supervision of Dr. Fernando Rodriguez. Her PhD thesis was about DNA Vaccine Development Against FMDV (Foot and Mouth Disease Virus) to increase the protective immunity trough CD8+ T cells. During this period she visited CReSA for several times supported from different funds.
Contact Sultan to learn more about her professional experience.
GET IN TOUCH
Contact Sultan to discuss any projects, published work, teaching, collaboration opportunities or for any other inquiries.
BioInterface Science Group, Biomedical Engineering, Eindoven University of Technology, TUe, Building 15, Gemini-Zuid 3.110, Groene Loper, Postbus 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven