I've been a scientist at heart since I was six years old — when I got my first microscope and a subscription to Discovery Kids magazine that I read cover to cover every month. I grew up in Turkey asking questions about everything, and that curiosity never really switched off.
My family moved to the United States at the end of middle school, and I finished high school in New Jersey, where I kept finding my way into every science class available. I also started volunteering at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia during those years, and discovered something important about myself: I loved explaining science just as much as I loved learning it.
That combination took me to the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, where I earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Bioinformatics. During my undergraduate years I had my first real taste of research, working in the laboratory of Dr. Michael Bruist studying protein-DNA interaction kinetics — and I was immediately hooked. Throughout college I also kept working at the Franklin Institute, bringing science to the public while studying it in class, and served as a teaching assistant. After graduating, I taught at Philadelphia University, helped design curricula, and continued developing science education programs at the Franklin Institute. Those years gave me a real appreciation for science communication and the challenge of making complex ideas click for anyone.
Eventually the researcher in me took over. After my years in science education, I wanted to get back into the lab, so I joined Drexel University College of Medicine as a laboratory technician. Working in the laboratory of Dr. Shira Ninio, I studied how Legionella pneumophila forms biofilms and replicates inside host cells — and while doing that, I pursued my Master of Science in Infectious Diseases at the same time. Getting back to the bench reminded me exactly why I loved research in the first place.
From there I transitioned to the laboratory of Dr. Alison Carey, initially joining as a lab manager before deciding to pursue my Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. My dissertation focused on neonatal immunology — why newborns struggle to mount effective immune responses to respiratory infections and what might be done about it. I studied defects in neonatal CD8+ T cell responses, investigated whether probiotic interventions could improve early viral control during influenza infection, and looked at modifiable risk factors that influence how the neonatal immune system develops. Alongside that work I also collaborated with the Wistar Cancer Institute on DNA-based HIV vaccine development and was part of the 2016 NIH Clinical and Translational Research Cohort. Outside the lab, I served as President of the Graduate Student Association for two years — a role I genuinely enjoyed, both for the community it built and for the chance to advocate for my fellow students.
After completing my Ph.D., I joined the FDA's Office of Vaccine Research and Review as an ORISE Postdoctoral Fellow under Dr. Margaret Bash, where I worked on developing vaccines against Neisseria gonorrhoeae — an increasingly urgent public health problem as antibiotic resistance grows. As a postdoc, I was involved in vaccine candidate development and characterization, ran immunology assays to look at mucosal and systemic immune responses, and contributed to murine immunization studies. I was also part of a broader NIH-U19 multi-site consortium, which gave me great exposure to collaborative science and the FDA's regulatory environment.
From there I joined the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine as a Program Officer focused on vaccine safety, leading expert consensus studies for federal agencies including the CDC, FDA, VA, and DoD. I've contributed to two published National Academies reports and in October 2025 briefed Congressional staff from the Senate HELP Committee and both chambers' Appropriations Committees on COVID-19 vaccine safety.
The curiosity that started with a childhood microscope is still very much the engine. I just have bigger questions now.
