Research is surely not an individual activity. It requires team effort.

The below list of students/technicians who are actively working or contributed in the past to the BioProcess group.

PI: Ali Özhan Aytekin Works on three fundamental topics: Biopolymers, Bioprocesses, and Enzymes. In biopolymers, production and modification of chitin, chitosan, bacterial cellulose with acrylate and acrylamide polymers via specific crosslinker and/or activator. Bioprocess area is wider than biopolymer but some of the modifications of biopolymers can be used in bioprocess area such as membrane and chromatographic separations. In addition to that scale-up and optimization studies are being conducted in this area. Protease, lipase, amylase, cellulase and mannanase, particularly most common used enzymes in industrial area, are studied based on production, characterization and improvements of activities.
PI: Emrah Nikerel Trained as (bio)chemical engineer, increasingly fascinated by the complexity, rigor and yet simplicity of biological systems exhibiting emergent system properties (1+1>2) and adapting to their environments. Works on systems biology and bioinformatics approaches to understand, engineer and optimize microbial metabolism, and applies these principles on industrially relevant problems/organisms. In a broader sense, interested in the analysis of microbial metabolism for industrially relevant organisms via systems biology approaches, dynamic modeling of metabolic systems by (approximative) kinetic model and understanding regulation of metabolism to adapt changing conditions. In particular, focuses on the analysis of production and stress conditions, discovery of novel hosts, strain design for target molecules.
Ülker Alkaya Born and raised in Adana, Turkey. Trained as Bachelor in Genetics and Bioinformatics in Bahçeşehir University, İstanbul. Studies with Emrah Nikerel for MSc. to be a bioinformatician/computational biologist. Currently, interested in reconstruction, analysis and use of genome-scale metabolic models and flux balance analysis, with a focus on Plant Growth Promoting RhizoBacteria
Filiz Erçelik Born and raised in Denizli, Turkey. Trained as undergraduate in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Halic University. Still learning as a PhD candidate at Biotechnology Programme, in Yeditepe University. My current research interests are on microbial production (including optimization) of industrially relevant enzymes via GMO or non-GMO route and the applications of these thereof. Current focus is on Lipase.
Melis Kalkan Born to be a meticulous experimenter. Trained as Geneticist and Bioengineer at Yeditepe University, where she keeps working on membrane technology to separate and purify food from pathogens etc. Good at working at dark (check the Folin’s reagent!)
Kerem Kaya Born and raised (until 10) in Skopje, Macedonia, further lived in Istanbul, Turkey. Trained as Bioengineer in Ege University, İzmir. Now, back to Istanbul to Yeditepe University, Department of Biotechnology. My current research is on finding, isolating, characterizing and optimizing microorganisms producing enzymes showing industrially interesting activities. Current focus is on keratinase.
Gonca Altın Yılmazer Gonca was born in Eskişehir. Graduated from Istanbul Tecnichal University Molecular Biology and Genetics department, studied on Cloning, Expression, Purification of Recombinant Geobacillus kaustophilus HslV HslU (ClpQ ClpY) proteins from E. coli and and Biochemical Characterization of ATP dependent protease HslVU at Gebze Institute of Technology (Gebze Technical University). Now, she is research assistant in Yeditepe University and her PhD thesis is “Mechanisms in Biomining of Magnesite and Its Scale Up Production” (cool stuff!).
Eyüp Yıldız Born and raised to be fermentation monster, currenly a good all-arounder. Support staff for all fermentation projects, process related equipments and coordinates lab related activities.
Alumni
Ahmet Katı Ahmet received his BSc degree in Biology from Karadeniz Technical University in 2009. He completed the MSc education in Microbiology, Giresun University in 2011. His PhD degree was from Genetics and Bioengineering, Yeditepe University in 2016. During his PhD education, he focused on discovering biological control agents and enzyme screening studies. His PhD is about media optimization, scale-up and large scale production.

Following his PhD, he started to work as Senior Researcher in R&D Center of Hayat Kimya, Kocaeli. He is currently responsible in industrial enzyme and preservatives studies. He led and established a research laboratory for microbial biotechnology in this R&D Center. This laboratory conducts multidisciplinary experiences with other R&D parts. His studies go on antimicrobial applications to FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods), enzymes to household applications, contamination control to liquid formulations, and environmental microbiology. Based on environmental microbiology, his lab follows discovering new microbes, industrial enzyme screening, and fermentation technologies.