Yusuf Mert OĞAN
Fifth Year Medical Student
İstanbul
Summary
My name is Yusuf Mert Oğan. I am %100 Scholar Medical student in Koç University.I have participated in neuroscience-related research, including studies on the Effect of Food Allergy on Maternity and the Investigation of Huntington’s Disease-Related Genes. In addition, I have a strong interest in otorhinolaryngology, particularly in microsurgeries involving the inner ear, as well as reconstructive procedures such as rhinoplasty and septoplasty. I am also interested in macrosurgical interventions related to the larynx. My career aspiration is to become an otolaryngologist and conduct research on neuronal stimulation in the cochlea, with a focus on the roles of stereocilia and kinocilia receptors.
Overview
2
2
years of professional experience
Work History
Investigation of HTT Cis-Variants Roles in Huntington Disease Pathology
Koç University Hospital
01.2023 - 01.2025
- Huntington disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder without disease modifying therapies. It is well-known that HD is always caused by an expanded CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene leading to translation of a mutant HTT (mHTT) protein with an expanded polyglutamine stretch in the whole body. However, a number of clinical trials aiming to reduce levels of mHTT have so far failed. There is an inverse correlation between the length of the CAG repeat and the age of onset of typical motor symptoms in HD, that define the age-of-onset of the clinical HD today. Several large genetic studies including genome-wide and transcription-wide association studies have revealed important genetic modifiers of age-of-onset with cis-variants in HTT suggested to exert major effects. However, these variants have not been considered in the characterization of clinical cohorts of individuals with HD, including in the development of inclusion for clinical trials aiming to modify disease progression. Also, the impact of the genetic variants on the function of mHTT or on neuropathology is not known. Here we propose to fill an important and urgent gap in the knowledge of clinical genetics in HD. We will delineate the role of cis-variants in HTT identified in large -omics studies in the pathogenesis of HD (delCAA-HD) using a combination of clinical cohorts and novel animal and cellular models of HD. The clinical cohorts are composed of two different populations and the in-depth analyses of the cis- variants in HTT will lead to improved diagnostic assay accuracy, more accurate information for genetic counseling and enhanced sub-classification of HD that will facilitate further clinical trials. Proof-of-principle experiments of the functional and pathological effects of the genetic variants in HTT will be performed in novel immortalized and hPSC cellular models as well as in adeno-associated viral vector-based animal models of HD in order to establish genetic-to-functional/pathological relationships. The delCAA consortium is composed of four international leading research laboratories, each with recognized and complementary expertise in various aspects of HD, including pathogenesis, clinic, genetics, animal and hPSC models. This transnational collaboration will be crucial to successfully achieve the aims of this project.
HFO analysis in epilepsy patients
Koç University Medical Faculty
09.2023 - 05.2024
- High-frequency oscillations (HFOs) are considered a biomarker of the epileptogenic zone in intracranial EEG recordings. For this purpose, intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) of drug resistant epilepsy patients will be analyzed by a homemade Matlab tool in order to find out possible seizure onset zone (SoZ).
A longitudinal investigation of the psychosocial effect of eliminating food from the diet on mother
Koç University Hospital
09.2022 - 05.2023
- The prevalence of food allergy (FA) has increased 50 % over the last decade with a prevalence of 5-8 % in children. FA may have a profound effect on a family’s life, making basic day-to-day activities such as shopping, cooking, and eating complex and stressful. Previous studies reported elevated anxiety levels, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms in mothers of children with FA. In our previous study, it was shown that mothers of infants with food allergies had higher scores on anxiety, depression symptoms and different mother-infant bonding styles compared to healthy controls. Maternal anxiety in early childhood may have negative consequences on emotional well-being and secure attachment of the child. However, the longitudinal psychosocial effects of FA have not been investigated previously (6). In this study, we hypothesize that (1) anxiety levels of mothers of children with FA would be higher than control group (2) anxiety levels of mothers of children with FA would be negatively correlated with their children’s secure attachment (3) baseline anxiety levels would be correlated with current anxiety levels and attachment scores (4) anxiety levels of mothers who stopped following a diet would be diminished. Participants will be recruited from an earlier study who will be provided with electronic questionnaires. They will be delivered an electronic Qualtrics link involving required questionnaires about parental anxiety, children’s emotional and behavioral problems and eating attitudes. For current parent-child attachment evaluation, parents will be asked to record an interactive play session with their child at least 7 minutes and share it with the study team. The video records will be saved on a cloud repository with two factor authentication security, which only the researchers will have access to. The play session will be coded according to Ruth Feldman’s coding of interactive behavior by two of researchers separately and the interrater reliability will be examined.
Education
Medical Degree -
Koç University
Istanbul, Sariyer07.2027
Skills
- English
- German
- Spanish
- Former Rowing Athlete
References
Nuray, Ulusu, Pr.Dr., nulusu@ku.edu.tr, Koç University Medical Faculty
Interests
Rowing in Koç University Sports Team, Intermediate Level Snowboarding, Drum Player
Timeline
HFO analysis in epilepsy patients
Koç University Medical Faculty
09.2023 - 05.2024
Investigation of HTT Cis-Variants Roles in Huntington Disease Pathology
Koç University Hospital
01.2023 - 01.2025
A longitudinal investigation of the psychosocial effect of eliminating food from the diet on mother
Koç University Hospital
09.2022 - 05.2023
Medical Degree -
Koç University