Professor Zehra Büyüktuncer Demirel is the Head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Hacettepe University. She earned her BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Nutrition and Dietetics from Hacettepe University. Her academic career includes roles as a visiting researcher at Columbia University in the United States and as a lecturer at the University of Chester in the UK. Her primary research interests include nutritional sciences, functional foods, the gut microbiome, circadian rhythms, and gene-diet interactions. Professor Büyüktuncel Demirel is a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences' Food and Nutrition Working Group and serves as the Turkish delegate to the European Federation of Associations of Dietitians.