Dr. Elif Nur Firat-Karalar
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Dr. Elif Nur Firat-Karalar is an Associate Professor at Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey. She studied molecular biology and genetics at Bilkent University, Turkey. She then moved to US for her PhD work at the University of California, Berkeley, where she investigated the mechanisms of actin nucleation under the supervision of Matthew Welch. During her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Tim Stearns at Stanford University, she used proteomics approaches and identified the centriole proteome and proximity interactome that revealed novel regulatory pathways for centriole biogenesis. Since 2014, she has been leading the cytoskeleton research laboratory at Koc University. Research in her lab focuses on studying the structure and function of the mammalian centrosome/cilium complex, with a particular focus on uncovering the molecular defects underlying developmental disorders. Elif is the first recipient of two ERC Starting Grants (2015, 2022) on her studies on the biology of centriolar satellites as well as other national and international grants including EMBO installation grant, Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellowship. Her research has been recognized by many awards including the EMBO Young Investigator Award, TUBITAK Incentive Award in Health Sciences and Sabri Ulker International Science Award.