2021–
Ä°zmir Institute of Technology
Faculty member (Assoc. Prof)
Bioengineering​
​
2019 – 2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Visiting PhD student
Harvard- MIT Health Sciences Technology
​
2016 – 2020
The University of Sheffield
PhD
Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
2013 – 2016
Izmir Katip Celebi University
MSc
Biomedical Technologies
2009 – 2013
Ege University
BSc
Bioengineering
Biography
In 2013, I completed my BSc degree in Bioengineering at Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. Following my undergraduate studies, I was awarded a Turkish Research Council (TÜBÄ°TAK)-supported MSc project focusing on the design and prototyping of a novel uterus manipulator for use in laparoscopic hysterectomy operations. After obtaining my MSc degree, I joined the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Group at the University of Sheffield in 2016 to pursue a PhD under the supervision of Prof. Sheila MacNeil and Dr. Frederik Claeyssens.
I earned my PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2020. My doctoral research explored the development of synthetic and natural tissue-engineered constructs for studying angiogenesis, with a particular emphasis on novel pro-angiogenic agents as alternatives to costly, well-established drugs.
My expertise encompasses biomaterial development and characterisation, human cell and tissue culture, in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis models, reconstruction of 3D skin models, and both in-ovo and ex-ovo chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays. ​
During my PhD, I actively presented my research in biomaterials and tissue engineering at international conferences across the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey, the United States, and Japan. I established collaborations with the University of Southampton during the early years of my PhD, and in 2019, I was invited to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, to conduct a collaborative research study. As part of this collaboration, I worked in Dr. Mercedes Balcells-Camps’s laboratory at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, MIT, where I spent six months developing a novel in vitro 3D dynamic model to study angiogenesis under physiologically relevant conditions.
Currently, I am an Associate Professor of Bioengineering and faculty member at Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH), where I lead the Dikici Research Group. Our group carries out research supported by national funding bodies such as TÜBÄ°TAK and TÜSEB, with a focus on the development of pro-angiogenic biomaterials, wound management strategies, and skin substitute products. Our research further includes the development of advanced 3D in vitro tissue and disease models, designed as 3R-compliant alternative strategies. Moreover, we are active users of ex ovo chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays, which enable the study of angiogenesis and early material–tissue interactions within an ethically acceptable, cost-effective, and 3R-relevant in vivo angiogenesis model.