Faculty Member, PhD
Özlem Ulucan Açan
Education
- Associate Professorship (Docent Title), 2026. Bioengineering, Interuniversity Board of Türkiye.
- PhD, 2015. Center for Bioinformatics, Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany.
- MSs, 2009. Computational Sciences and Engineering, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey.
- BSc, 2007. Molecular Biology and Genetics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Erasmus Exchange Program, 02.2006 – 08.2006. University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
- Double Major (Non-degree), 2005-2007. Mathematics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Courses
- BIOE 341: Bioinformatics
- BIOE 340: Modeling and Simulation in Bioengineering
- BIOE 541: Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics
- BIOE 510: Research Methods and Ethics in Bioengineering
- BIOE 557: Statistical and Computational Methods in Bioengineering
Areas of Interest
- Computational Systems Biology and Multi-Omics Integration: Integration and analysis of large-scale biological data (transcriptomics, proteomics, etc.).
- Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence: Applications of Graph Neural Networks and explainable artificial intelligence on biomedical data.
- Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine: Molecular mechanisms of Ferroptosis and EMT (Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition) processes in gastric, breast, and lung cancers.
- Drug Repurposing: Computational screening and validation of existing drugs for new therapeutic indications.
- Computer-Aided Drug Design and Pharmacogenomics: Modeling of protein–protein interactions, side effect prediction, and identification of novel therapeutic targets.
Rewards and Achievements
Socrates/Erasmus Program Scholarship, 2006.- TUBİTAK National Scholarship Program for Graduate Students, 2007-2009.
- 09.2007 - 09.2009 Koc University Ful Scholarship, 2007-2009.
Other Information
Projects:
- Investigation of the interaction between epithelial–mesenchymal transition and ferroptosis in triple-negative breast cancer and evaluation of its potential relevance for novel therapeutic combinations. Principal Investigator, TÜBİTAK 1001 (2026– )
- Characterization of hybrid epithelial–mesenchymal transition states in cancer cells and identification of candidate drug molecules targeting these hybrid states. Principal Investigator, TÜBİTAK 3501 (2022– )
- Pathway-based analysis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia to define the Ph-like subtype. Principal Investigator, İstanbul Bilgi University (2022–2023)
- Risk stratification of newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients using RNA sequencing analyses. Researcher, İstanbul University (2021–2023)
- Anticancer drug design by targeting repressive immune checkpoints. Principal Investigator, İstanbul Bilgi University (2018–2020)
- Role of interfacial water in the formation of specific, transient, and non-specific protein–protein interactions. Researcher, DFG-funded project (2012–2015)
- Simulation of proton transport at decorated surfaces and in cytochrome c oxidase using Q-HOP molecular dynamics. Researcher, DFG-funded project (2009–2012)