Cell scientist to watch – Elif Nur Firat-Karalar

Abstract

Elif Nur Firat-Karalar studied molecular biology and genetics at Bilkent University, Turkey. She then moved to the USA for her PhD work at the University of California, Berkeley, where she investigated the mechanisms of actin nucleation under the supervision of Matthew Welch. During her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Tim Stearns at Stanford University, she used proteomics approaches and identified the centriole proteome and proximity interactome that revealed novel regulatory pathways for centriole biogenesis. In 2014, Elif became an Assistant Professor at Koç University in İstanbul, Turkey. Research in her lab focuses on studying the structure and function of the mammalian centrosome/cilium complex, with a particular focus on centriolar satellites. Elif is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant, EMBO installation grant and Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellowship.