Rate My Professor Ekin Atilla-Gokcumen

Professor Atilla-Gokcumen's research program in bioorganic and medicinal chemistry investigates the roles of lipids in membrane-related transformations during critical cellular processes such as replicative senescence, apoptosis, and necroptosis, which are pivotal for human health and disease. Her laboratory utilizes liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based lipidomics for lipid discovery and employs chemical biology and biochemical approaches for functional characterization, exploring how subtle variations in lipid chemical structures influence biological outcomes. Key publications include "Protein acylation by saturated very long chain fatty acids and endocytosis are involved in necroptosis" (2021), "Short Photoswitchable Ceramides enable Optical Control of Apoptosis" (2021), "Untargeted lipidomics highlight the depletion of deoxyceramides during therapy-induced senescence" (2020), "Membrane disruption by very long chain fatty acids during necroptosis" (2019), "p38 MAPK pathway is Involved in Triacylglycerol and Lipid Droplet Accumulation during Apoptosis" (2019), and "Lipids are Central to Replicative Senescence" (2017). She has earned prestigious awards including the Mister Miyagi Mentorship Award from the LSAMP Summer Program (2017), Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Research Leave Award (2016), The Julian Park Publication Fund (2016), Winkler Assistant Professorship (2013), Jere Solo Assistant Professorship (2013), Werner von Siemens Academic Excellence Award (2003), and was named Vehbi Koc Scholar at Koc University (1999-2003).