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I am a postdoc neuroscientist in the Optical Imaging Lab. I am interested in understanding how neuronal networks process sensory information, and combine them with internal knowledge and experiences to form perception of sensory events, and how such processes may guide decision and action. To this aim the activity of a large population of neurons are recorded during a behavioral test using wide-field imaging and electrophysiology, while pharmacological and optogenetic methods are used for manipulation of activity.

During my PhD, I investigated the effect of serotonin on the visual processing; how it controls the gain of the external sensory input and internally driven information; their interaction under anesthetized and awake states. Prior to that, I did my undergraduate and master's studies in Biomedical Engineering- Bioelectrics at AmirKabir University of Technology.

I completed my BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Bucharest and a MSc in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. In my current project I am trying to understand the modulatory role of serotonin on the cortical state by investigating the interplay of serotonin receptors in different neuronal populations within the visual cortex using optogenetics and multi-channle silicon probes.

The focus of my work is on integration between cortical areas. Of particular interest to me are the visual, motor and somatosensory cortex during locomotion tasks. To this end I am combining optogenetics, virtual environments and high-speed multi-channel optical wide-field imaging.

I have completed my studies in biology (Bsc at FAU, Erlangen and Msc: at RWTH in Aachen, with the focus on biological information processing). I am currently involved in the project “I see” in which we collaborate with different partners to develop improved visual prosthesis by allowing a stimulation that adapts to neuronal information processing and enables a synergistic interaction with the ongoing activity (Home | ISEE (uni-bremen.de). With the techniques of optogenetics and electrophysiology, I will quantify intracortical electrical microstimulation effects and identify ongoing spontaneous activity pattern in the primary visual cortex in a mouse model.

During my undergraduate, I studied Molecular Biology and Genetics at Abdullah Gül University, Turkey. In the course of my PhD research, my interest is the development and implementation of optogenetic-driven cellular receptors within the retina, with the aim of providing a novel therapeutic strategy for retinal dystrophies that culminate in blindness. This novel approach also encompasses the  characterization of the extent to which light sensitivity in the retina is amplified, as well as the quantification of the resulting perceptual improvements within higher brain regions. To achieve this, my research methods encompass a multifaceted approach, including eye tracking, optical imaging techniques, and electrophysiological analyses.