8 January 2022 – When EMBO Member Mehmet Öztürk returned to Turkey in 1995, he seized an opportunity to promote life sciences by mobilising the development of centres of excellence that bring together learning with cutting-edge research. “What excites me is not only scientific discovery, but establishing ways for young people to realise their dreams,” says Öztürk, a Professor of Medical Biology at Izmir Tinaztepe University, who founded Bilkent University’s Molecular Biology and Genetics Department and Biotechnology Centre in Ankara and the Biomedicine and Genome Centre in Izmir. “These were the first centres of their kind in Turkey. Fast forward 25 years and across the country there are almost 50 departments set up in this way.”
“I know many researchers and students who have benefited greatly from EMBO Programmes and fellowships,” Öztürk explains. “Such initiatives are very important in instilling quality in the life sciences, and many of the people decorated by EMBO are playing leading roles in the positive evolution of Turkish life science.” “Life sciences and technologies play an increasingly important role in our lives,” continues Öztürk, whose own research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underpinning liver cancer. “Turkey is a fascinating place to do science: there is easy access to patient material, we have excellent collaborators, there are a variety of funding opportunities, and we have a young, smart, and enthusiastic population. There is a lot of potential to develop the research base. Nothing happens in a day, but science has no limits in uniting people from many different countries and cultures. Together we can make the world a better place.”
