Burak V. Kabasakal, PhD
Team Leader
Dr Burak V Kabasakal received his BSc degree in Chemical Engineering from Hacettepe University. After graduate studies in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Hacettepe University, University of California, Davis and Imperial College London, respectively, he obtained a PhD degree in Dr. James W Murray Lab in Life Sciences from Imperial College London, UK. During his PhD, he studied structural and functional relations of carbon and nitrogen fixation proteins, and he was awarded International Biochemical Society Student Scholarship (2016), European Crystallography Association (ECA) Young Scientist Award (2016), International Crystallography Association (IUCR) Young Scientist Award (2016), and Stanford University Bio-X Award (2015). He then moved to Bristol as a postdoctoral researcher at Professors Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel and Imre Berger Lab in the University of Bristol, Biochemistry Department for about two years. After postdoctoral work, Dr. Kabasakal came back to Türkiye with a prestigious TÜBİTAK 2232 International Outstanding Researchers Grant Program to establish a structural biology/biochemistry laboratory at Turkish Accelerator and Radiation Laboratory (TARLA). In September 2025, he joined METU Department of Biological Sciences. His research interests are the structure-function relationship and dynamics of proteins, using electron cryo-microscopy, X-ray crystallography, laser time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, and other complementary techniques.
Mariam Ghunaim, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
Mariam joined the BvK Lab at METU as a Postdoctoral Researcher in 2026. She earned her B.Sc. (2014) and M.Sc. (2017) in Biotechnology from the Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine, where she investigated novel anticancer compounds targeting the EGFR pathway. She completed her Ph.D. in Biotechnology at Dokuz Eylül University in late 2025, focusing on combining computational and experimental approaches to design and characterize protease-resistant recombinant L-asparaginase II (L-ASNase II) variants for anticancer applications. Mariam’s research integrates molecular biology, protein biochemistry, and computational tools (molecular docking and MD simulations) to study protein structure–function relationships. Her work in the lab focuses on membrane protein production and characterization, as well as the design and evaluation of mutant protein variants
Ataollah Nosratinia, MSc
PhD Student
Ataollah received his B.Sc. degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Iran. In 2018, he entered the Biotechnology M.Sc. program at METU, where he developed scaffolds for bone tissue engineering purposes gaining experience and skills in handling biomaterials, characterization techniques, and cell culture studies among others. Ataollah continued his academic career in a PhD program at METU joining the Q-OmicS Lab and BvK LaB. He is currently working as a research scholar within the TÜBİTAK 2519 International Collaboration Project with South Korea, involving developing novel peptidomimetic antimicrobial inhibitors targeting bacteria. Representative picture: Lawrence Bragg
Useyma Gülhan
MSc Student
Useyma received her BSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics from METU in 2024. During her undergraduate years, she interned at METU Cancer Systems Biology Laboratory and Gazi University Immunology Laboratory. She gained experience as an intern in cytotoxicity screening, gene expression analysis, flow cytometry, and next-generation sequencing technology. Moreover, she improved her bioinformatics skills by conducting in-silico analysis during her internship at METU Cancer Systems Laboratory. She joined BvK Lab and Q-Omics Lab in 2024 and started her graduate studies in Biochemistry. She focuses on recombinant protein expression, purification, and cross-linking mass spectrometry to investigate protein-protein interactions. Her research interest areas include proteomics, structural biology, and bioinformatics.
Göze Sevin Özkalaycı
MSc Student
Biography
Kaan Keskinkaya
Undergraduate Researcher
Biography
Yiğit Ozan Eryılmaz
Undergraduate Researcher
Biography
Alumni
Postdocs and Graduate Students
Havva Nurefşan Kuzucu, MSc student in Biotechnology, 11/2023-07/2026
Gizem Biter, MSc student in Chemistry, 2022-2025
Dr. Mehmet Çalıseki, PhD student in Molecular Biology and Genetics, 07/2021-04/2025
Tuğberk Deniz Karakaş, MSc student in Biotechnology, 04/2022-04/2025
Nasim Allahyari, PhD student in Biochemistry, 11/2020-11/2024
Dr. Günce Göç, PhD student in Biology, 02/2020-01/2024
Dr. Sema Aygar, Post-doctoral researcher, 08/2020-10/2021
Masoume Gholinezhad, PhD student in Biotechnology, 10/2020-04/2021
Undergraduate Students
Zeynep Tuba Odacı, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 02/2026-08/2026
Nehir Küçükusta, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 02/2025-07/2026
Bengi Kasalar, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 02/2026-08/2026
Berat Emir Akbaş, Summer intern, Summer 2026
Aleyna İrem Çilingir, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 01/2025-07/2025
Güzin Beyza Yıldız, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 01/2025-07/2025
Hossein Khosravi, Summer intern, Summer 2024
Mustafa Buğra Aydın, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 03/2024-09/2024
Sedef Sucu, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 02/2024-08/2024
Emine Büyüktokatlı, Summer intern, Summer 2024
Bünyamin Akgöbek, Summer intern, Summer 2024
Merve Kayhan, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 07/2023-12/2023
Esra Kartal, Summer intern, Summer 2023
Hayri Kerim İnce, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 11/2022-05/2023
Elif Büşra Karakaya, Voluntary intern, 01-02/2023
Sevginaz Kaya, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 07/2022-01/2023
Sıla Akdoğan, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 02-08/2022
Sernur Sena Yıldız, Summer intern, 07-10/2021
Ebru Avcı, Summer intern, 06-08/2021
Zeynep Çolak, TÜBİTAK STAR intern, 02-08/2021