Tolga Soykan

EDUCATION

College / University

Sabanci University, Istanbul

Highest Degree

Bachelor of Science

Major Subjects

Biological Sciences and Bioengineering

Country

Turkey

Lab Experience

Various techniques in microbiology and molecular genetics; DNA microarrays, Real-Time PCR, Fluorescence Microscopy

Projects / Research

2006: Quantification of metallothionein gene expression in wheat (T. durum) in response to Cd toxicity using quantitative PCR (9-month project). Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey
2005: Deletion and identification of cytR and purR, two nucleotide metabolism associated genes involved in repression of synthesis of biofilm structure in Vibrio cholerae (3-month summer project). Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
2004: CASP-VI (Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction Experiment) - Protein structure prediction via high confidence functional homology and threading (3-month summer project). Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey
2004: Protein structure determination using functional alignment methods - searching for potential DNA binding sites of plant metallothioneins through local alignments (6-month project). Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey

Publications

Soykan T, Beyaziler M, Olcay E, Budak H, Cakmak I, Sayers Z (2006) Quantification of metallothionein expression in wheat (T. durum) in response to Cd toxicity (Poster). 3rd International PhD Student Symposium "Horizons in Molecular Biology", 14-16 September 2006, Göttingen, Germany

Scholarships / Awards

2006 – 2007:

Stipend International Max Planck Research School

SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS AND GOALS

I have a particular interest in RNA biology and I am amazed at how RNA molecules contribute to the machinery of life. By investigating the mechanisms involving RNA molecules, such as RNA splicing and RNA interference, I would like to be a part of the scientific community that works on highlighting the post-transcriptional gene modification mechanisms.