Tolga Sutlu

In 2000, I graduated from Kadikoy Anadolu Lisesi (Istanbul) and enrolled in Sabanci University (Istanbul) with full scholarship due to an outstanding performance in the national university entrance exams. I received a B.Sc. degree in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering from Sabanci University in 2004. During my undergrad studies, I have been involved in research projects in Prof. Zehra Sayers’ lab in Sabanci University, worked as an intern in Pak Biotechnology Center - Pakmaya (Summer 2002) and in Prof. Edvard Smith’s research group at the Karolinska Institutet (Summer 2003).

After graduation I worked for one year as a Molecular Biologist in Acibadem Genetic Diagnosis and Cell Therapy Center (Istanbul) before moving to Sweden in 2005 to attend Stockholm Research School in Molecular Life Sciences – a one year collaborative program including Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm University and The Royal Institute of Technology. Upon completion of this program, I was enrolled for Ph.D. studies at the Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge. I have received my Ph.D. degree in Medical Sciences from the Karolinska Institutet in 2012 with a thesis titled “Expansion and Genetic Modification of Human Natural Killer Cells for Adoptive Immunotherapy of Cancer”.

After doing a further 1.5 years of post-doctoral research at Karolinska Institutet, I have moved back to Istanbul/Turkey and started working at Sabancı University as an Instructor/Course Coordinator as of February 2014. Currently, I am running my own research group at Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center.

I have a special interest and high-level of experience in fields such as molecular biology, primary cell culture, multi-color flow cytometry, cell and gene therapy and cancer immunotherapy. My goal is to develop novel and more efficient methods for cell and gene therapy.