I graduated from the Department of Food Engineering at Hacettepe University in 2008 and continued my MSc and PhD studies in the same department as a member of FoQuS (Food Quality and Safety Research Group). My MSc thesis was about mitigating acrylamide formation in bakery products. In my PhD, I investigated the formation of α-dicarbonyl compounds under high temperature processing conditions. I worked as a Research Assistant at Hacettepe University from 2010 to 2017. Then, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Reading. My postdoc study was about flavour chemistry with a focus on thermal flavour generation. I have been working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Engineering at Hacettepe University since March 2019. I received UK Royal Society of Chemistry Food Group Junior Medal 2017, which was based on my contribution to food chemistry, particularly about my research and publications on the Maillard reaction, aroma and acrylamide generation. In 2020, I received the Hacettepe University Incentive Award in Science and Engineering, which was also based on my contribution to food chemistry. 

My research interest is about investigating low molecular weight food components mainly concerning their chemical reactions and interactions with a focus on food processing and formulation.

Process Induced Changes in Foods with a Focus on Food Quality and Safety:

• Maillard reaction
• Sugar decomposition (Caramelization)
• Thermal flavour generation
• Food browning
• Lipid oxidation
• Neo-formed toxicants in foods (α-dicarbonyl compounds, acrylamide, furfurals, advanced glycation end products)

Bioactive Compounds

• Maillard reaction products (Melanoidins)
• Biogenic amines (Melatonin, serotonin)
• Dietary antioxidants
• Phenolic compounds

Kinetics

• Multiresponse kinetic modelling
• Adsorption kinetics

Food Processing

• Thermal processing (Roasting, baking, frying, radio frequency heating, vacuum baking)
• Adsorption