İpek Küçükkara

EDUCATION

College / University

Middle East Technical University

Highest Degree

Bachelor of Science

Major Subjects

Biology

Country

Turkey

Lab Experience

Protein Purification (Affinity Chromatography, Size-Exclusion Chromatography), Bacterial Protein Expression, Western Blot, Protein Quantification, Confocal Microscopy, Light Microscopy, SDS-PAGE, Agarose Gel Electrophoresis, Plasmid Cloning, PCR, DNA isolation, Total Protein Isolation, Mammalian Cell Culture, Cell Viability Assays, Bacterial Cell Culture

Projects / Research

2026: Undergraduate Research Internship, "Evaluation of Serine Metabolism and Metabolic Plasticity in AKR1B10 Overexpressing Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Lines", Banerjee Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara
2025: Summer Research Internship, "Dissecting the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Stress Granule Disassembly: The Role of USP10 in Stress Granule Dynamics", Karagöz Lab, Max Perutz Labs, Vienna BioCenter

Scholarships / Awards

2026 – 2027:	Stipend by the International Max Planck Research School
2026:	Graduated as a High Honor Student and the Highest-Ranking Student in the Department of Biology (Class of 2026) at Middle East Technical University
2025:	EU Erasmus + Traineeship Grant for summer internship at Max Perutz Labs Vienna
2023 – 2026:	Toplum Gönüllüleri Vakfı (TOG) Science Scholarship supporting students from STEM fields with outstanding achievements

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND GOALS

I am enthusiastic about cell biology, biochemistry and metabolism. I am more specifically interested in the impairment of intricate pathways in cells which is significant for disease emergence and progression. In certain diseases such as cancer, the regulatory pathways change drastically and deciphering how these changes occur on a molecular level allow us to come up with therapeutic strategies against disease onset and progression. I intend to expand my knowledge on the complex signaling pathways and regulatory networks found in cells and, ultimately contribute to the research that helps uncover how perturbations to intricate molecular systems influence cellular behavior and survival.