Nutrition, Metabolism and Public Health
Assoc. Dr. Elvan Böke was the winner of the 2023 Sabri Ülker Science Award!
The Metabolism and Life Symposium, organized by the Harvard Sabri Ülker Center on May 9-10 at Kadir Has University, also hosted the Sabri Ülker Science Award ceremony, one of the most prestigious awards for young scientists. The Sabri Ülker Science Award, which was evaluated by an independent jury and given for the eighth time this year, was won by Assoc. Dr. Elvan Böke, Group Leader of the Center for Genomic Editing (CRG) in Spain, for her research "Aiming to reverse aging in egg cells". After the press conference held on May 9, the award ceremony was held. Assoc. Dr. Böke received her award from Cahirperson of Yıldız Holding Ali Ülker, Harvard Sabri Ülker Center President Prof. Dr. Gökhan Hotamışlıgil, Rector of Kadir Has University Prof. Dr. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyizand Nobel Prize Winner Prof. Dr. Randy Schekman.
Assoc. Dr. Elvan Böke: “Our goal is to take a big step forward in the treatment of reproductive diseases”
Assoc. Dr. Elvan Böke, “Egg cells do not age until age 40, although they are present in women from birth. What causes her to suddenly age after 40 is still unknown. “With our work, we want to uncover the unknowns about egg aging, one of the biggest barriers to fertility and late motherhood.”
Stating that the world's population tends to age and women mostly start to have children after the age of 30, Assoc. Dr. Böke said: "It is predicted that fertility-related problems will be one of the most important problems that humanity will face in the coming period. Moreover, due to the unknown about the egg cell, more than 25 percent of women who have reproductive problems cannot even be determined what the problem is. In this case, women have to try many unnecessary treatment methods. In our laboratory, we aim to identify the underlying problem of these unanswered reproductive problems and to take a major step forward in the treatment of reproductive health diseases. I would like to thank the Sabri Ülker Foundation, which supported us throughout this process and deemed it worthy of this award, and I am very happy to see that our efforts have paid off.”
