Molecular Biology and Genetics

At the beginning of the 21st century, novel technologies are allowing us to make exciting new discoveries and obtain detailed knowledge of how molecules, cells, tissues, and organisms operate. Furthermore, these advances are changing the way in which we diagnose and treat human disease. In light of these developments, it is crucial that we educate today’s students about biology at the molecular level. Koç University’s Molecular Biology and Genetics program succeeds in providing broad, deep, and rigorous education in the biological sciences. 

Students in Molecular Biology and Genetics program will take classes that provide fundamental knowledge of the different branches of biology. These courses include: biochemistry,  molecular biology, genetics, cell biology and developmental biology.

The Molecular Biology and Genetics program also offers various elective courses for advanced students who wish to focus on specific areas, such as cancer biology, neuroscience, proteomics, and bioinformatics.

Students in the Molecular Biology and Genetics program will have opportunities to further develop their skills and knowledge by working with faculty members in their cutting-edge research programs.

Our Molecular Biology and Genetics faculty have recently won several prestigious awards, including the ERC Starting Grant, the Turkish Academcy of Sciences Young Scientist Award, the L’Oreal Young Women in Science Award, the EMBO Installation Grant, and the Marie Curie Reintegration Grant.

Undergraduate Program

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Curriculum

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Double Major Programs

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Courses

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Minor Program

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Research Areas

Our laboratory is actively working on biological clock related problems. First, we are interested in understanding how biological clock communicates with other signal transduction pathways in mammals to regulate many physiological variables at the molecular levels like blood pressure, immune system, some form of depressions, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and sleep. Second, we are taking experimental approaches to develop novel drugs against biological clock related diseases. Finally, our lab is interested in to understand how biological clock affects starch production and in turn plant yield. We are currently working on the relationship between transcription of the ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (a key enzyme in starch biosynthesis) and clock under various photoperiods.

We investigate the role of gene expression mechanisms in nervous system development and function.  Neurons have evolved numerous mechanisms to diversify and regulate their gene expression.  Our laboratory studies regulation and neuronal gene expression at two levels:  transcriptional regulation and regulation of alternative splicing.

Towards a better understanding of mitochondria-associated disease and aging, a goal of our laboratory is to study how cells respond to and survive after mtDNA mutation. For these studies, we use budding yeast, the experimental system in which much of what is known about mitochondrial assembly and function has been acquired. One long term aim of our laboratory is to find genetic and pharmacological methods by which we can increase the fitness of human cells with impaired mitochondria.

Our lab is interested in the regulation of cell division. Cell division is a fundamental process by which all living things propagate. As mammalian cells progress into mitosis (M-phase) and cytokinesis (C-phase), the cell undergoes dramatic reorganization in its structure and biochemical state in a short period of time, and the dynamics of this process are poorly understood.  By the entry into mitosis, almost all aspects of the cell’s interior are changed under the influence of the master mitotic kinase Cdk1. Similarly; cell surface morphology undergoes dramatic reshaping at the onset of mitosis. As adherent cells enter mitosis they transiently lose their adherence and round up. At cytokinesis the daughter cells spread back to regain their interphase morphology. The major questions that we aim to understand are how cell cycle dependent changes are regulated and how the changes on the cell membrane are coordinated with cell’s interior to drive cell division and how the cell is communicating with its extracellular environment during division. Towards this goal, we apply quantitative proteomic techniques to examine the biochemical profile of different cellular compartments as mammalian cells progress through mitosis and cytokinesis, during normal physiology, and in response to perturbation of different cellular components by drugs. In parallel we perform microscopy-based assays and cell biology techniques to determine the underlying mechanisms of the biochemical behaviours observed in the proteomic analyses.

The centrosome is the main microtobule-organizing center of animal cells. It consists of two centrioles surrounded by pericentriolar material. Centrioles are essential for the assembly of flagella and cilia, which are important in signalling and motility. Centrosomes duplicate precisely once per cell cycle to ensure that each daughter cell receives one centrosome. There are many links between the centrosome/cilium complex and a number of human diseases.  Structural and numerical abnormalities of the centrosome have long been implicated in cancer. Mutations affecting components of the centrosome and cilia cause human genetic diseases including ciliopathies, dwarfism and primary microcephaly. To better understand what goes awry in these diseases, we aim to elucidate the controls that govern centriole duplication during the cell cycle. Moreover, we are interested in understanding how centrosomes and cilia are assembled, maintained and dynamically altered during the cell cycle. We take a multidisciplinary approach to address these questions, combining genomic, proteomic, biochemical and cell biological methods.

Molecular Biology and Genetics
Seminars

Molecular Biology and Genetics seminars are  regularly on Thursdays at 14:30 in SCI103

Graduate
Programs

Master of Science in Molecular Biology and Genetics
PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics
Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering
PhD in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering

Global Exchange

We strongly recommend that MBGE undergraduates take advantage of exchange opportunities in Europe, the United States, and in other locations around the world.