Nutrition, Food Research and Public Health

The Sabri Ülker Award for Future Science Leaders

Rewarding scientific excellence and fostering innovation in Nutrition, Food Research and Public Health

Over the past decade the Sabri Ülker Foundation has presented a Science Award to outstanding young Turkish Scientists, both in Türkiye and in the diaspora. The objective has been to develop a network of expertise and a platform for sharing ideas to advance the science of nutrition, metabolism and public health. This enterprise has exceeded expectations, encouraging innovations and inspiring science leaders of the future.

Building on this success, the Sabri Ülker Foundation is now broadening the scope of the Science Award internationally, welcoming applications from scientists of all nationalities from around the world.

This development is a key component of the Sabri Ülker Foundation’s vision for globalisation. The aim is to identify and support future science leaders who will generate benefits to society in the fields of nutrition, food research, and public health.

The award will be adjudicated by a distinguished selection committee composed of leading scientists from both Türkiye and around the world, reflecting its global perspective.

The core mission of the award remains to encourage cutting-edge scientific research and translational studies in nutrition, metabolism, and public health. By opening the award to the global scientific community, the Sabri Ülker Foundation aims to:

• Foster a global network of scientific excellence: The inclusion of researchers from many countries is designed to create a diverse and powerful platform for scientific collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• Accelerate impactful discoveries: By attracting a wide poolf talent, the award seeks to support the most promising and innovative projects that can lead to tangible improvements in public health worldwide.

Applications for the international science award will be evaluated based on detailed criteria including, but not limited to, scientific innovation,  enhanced mechanistic understanding, and promotion of healthy nutrition and lifestyles in society. An additional requirement will be that the research has been fully documented in peer reviewed publications and has direct practical relevance. Plans for future investigations will also be taken into account in the evaluation.

Dr. Aydan Bulut Karslıoğlu was the winner of the 2024 Sabri Ülker Award for Future Science Leaders!

Sabri Ülker Award for Future Science Leaders has been presented since 2015 to encourage fundamental research conducted in Türkiye and worldwide by young Turkish scientists in the fields of nutrition, food research, and public health. The award, which ranks among the most prestigious awards for young scientists, evaluates project applications based on the criteria of “being scientifically pioneering, revealing new mechanisms, promoting nutrition and healthy lifestyles in society, and being completed and applicable.”

This year, the 9th recipient of Sabri Ülker Award for Future Science Leaders was Dr. Aydan Bulut Karslıoğlu, who leads the Stem Cell Chromatin Group at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin.

Research that earned Karslıoğlu Sabri Ülker Award for Future Science Leaders

Dr. Aydan Bulut Karslıoğlu, who was awarded Sabri Ülker Award for Future Science Leaders for his pioneering contributions in the fields of stem cell biology and embryonic development, is conducting research examining the genetic, epigenetic, and metabolic changes embryos undergo in the first few days of life.

Embryonic diapause is observed in various mammalian species. Many mammals have developed an interesting survival mechanism whereby they suspend the development of their embryos when faced with harsh environmental conditions. Thanks to this mechanism, known as diapause, they can suspend embryonic development until the environment becomes favorable again when faced with adverse external factors such as starvation. Although stem cells retain their differentiation potential throughout this process, how this memory is encoded and preserved during dormancy remains unknown. Scientists aim to unravel the mechanisms of how dormancy is initiated, maintained, and how cells are reactivated.

While it is debated whether similar mechanisms exist in humans, Dr. Bulut Karslıoğlu's group recently brought to light the claim that human cells also have diapause capacity. These studies, which have enabled major advances in science and disease treatment to date, are also expected to shed light on stem cell therapies.

It is known that cellular dormancy plays a role in the functioning of the human body; here, dormant stem cells serve as a pool for tissue renewal and repair. Therefore, Dr. Bulut Karslıoğlu's research also has the potential to advance research on dormancy in other contexts.

Dr. Aydan Bulut Karslıoğlu said about the research: “We hope that our embryonic system will serve as a tool for fundamental discoveries that concern not only us but also other sleep systems.”

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