Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Dentistry Vice Dean, Molecular Biology and Genetics Specialist and GenBiomics R & D CEO Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen, together with his students Rebwar Saeed M. Rashid, Arwa Abourajab and Tuğrul Özbil, declared that they have been and will continue to carry out scientific studies despite all the difficulties, restrictions and the current pandemic.
Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen has stated that for over 30 years, he has been working with world-renowned scientists and academicians at Boğaziçi University and the American National Institutes of Health Sciences (NIH), both of which are considered to be among the best, and has added his own synthesis to the said studies and been offering his accumulation to his students at EMU. Prof. Dr. Tüzmen stated that this flow of information is evident in student satisfaction and success.
Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen added that during his doctoral studies at Boğaziçi University, he had the opportunity to study the Beta Thalassemia genetic disease seen in Turkish Cypriots and present in our island with his supervisor Prof. Dr. Nazlı Başak. Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen added that he is preparing the groundwork to be able to carry out the Beta Thalassemia studies that he has been carrying out in Turkey's first Molecular Biology and Genetics Reference Laboratory since the 1980s at EMU as well.
Exemplary Studies
Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen stated that they are currently reaping the fruit of their work for future generations. Despite the fact that Molecular Biology and Genetics Laboratory studies are based on very costly budgets, they are also working on "in silico" (computer-based) studies with the students and professors in the research group, despite some problems and limited possibilities. Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen added that they have also published many book chapters and academic articles, and, thus, produced exemplary work.
Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen added that the studies he conducted in the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) between 1996 and 2001 have also shed light on his students as he shared this accumulation with his students He went to the USA for his post-doctoral education as the first Turkish Cypriot receiving “Fogarty Scholarship”, a prestigious award in the International Scientific World, from the American National Institutes of Health (NIH). At the said place, he conducted studies on the Beta Globin gene family, which causes Beta Thalassemia. He also emphasized that together with his mentor in the USA, Dr. Alan Schechter, and his mentor at Boğaziçi University, Prof. Dr. A. Nazlı Başak, he introduced the techniques they used in laboratory studies in the field of Hemoglobin and Beta Thalassemia to the world literature.
Important Information Introduced to the World Literature"
Prof. Dr. Tüzmen also talked about the studies and discoveries he made for cancer using gene suppression technology. He brought the FDFT1 gene, which is in the cholesterol pathway, to the world literature in order to be able to perform further examination, especially to the list of potential therapeutic gene candidates on prostate cancer. In gene suppression studies, he worked with tens of thousands of potential gene candidates and drugs currently used in the health sector and made important findings again.
EMU Genetics Club Founder and Mentor Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen personally initiated and pioneered the establishment of many social and scientific meetings and symposiums in line with international standards that will set an example for EMU Student Club activities and related departments. He added that they will continue with such activities that will support the social and scientific development of students in the 2021-22 Academic Year.
Support to the Community
Having an important role in the establishment and development of EMU Faculty of Dentistry, Prof. Dr. Tüzmen stated that they provide support to the TRNC Ministry of Health and thus to the community, thanks to the studies carried out by EMU regarding COVID-19 and the activities they carry out at the MDH-EMU Molecular Genetics and Research Laboratory established within Famagusta State Hospital.
Prof. Dr. Şükrü Tüzmen added that in the 2021-22 Academic Year Fall Semester, EMU Faculty of Dentistry awaits student candidates who would like to receive education in the laboratories with the prominent academic staff and the latest technology at the EMU Faculty of Dentistry.
