Success certificates were presented to the RaDiChal’22 Champion ALTHEA team by Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan. The project team, which received awards for best poster, best Wu Syndrome gene therapy, best gene therapy education, and the RaDiChal’22 championship in the RaDiChal’22 final, met with Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör in the Senate Hall of Üsküdar University's central campus.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan; “This is an indication that Turkey has caught up with the era.”
Üsküdar University Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan congratulated the successful students. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that a gene therapy related to schizophrenia treatment might emerge while working on gene therapy; “NMDI evaluations are ongoing. We had a case published there, that NMDI encephalitis, also known as Limbic encephalitis in the brain, causes encephalitis in that region, and a schizophrenia-like picture emerges in the brain. If treated late, that part of the brain would be damaged and it would be a lost case. Since schizophrenia is a multi-genetic, multi-factorial disease, you might find something related to schizophrenia while working on this. It would be very interesting. While working on its treatment, a gene therapy related to schizophrenia treatment might emerge. It could be a pioneer, a very promising study. Young people are lucky; in our time, they were told 'don't bother with these, study your lessons,' now they are told 'participate in projects.' This is an indication that Turkey has caught up with the era.” he said.
Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör; “The excitement of science is a wonderful thing.”
Üsküdar University Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör stated that the excitement provided by science must be preserved and that there should be unity and togetherness. Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör; “This excitement for science is a wonderful thing. I also congratulate them wholeheartedly, we are very lucky. The scientific potential at this university has been recognized. You are continuing on your path with a very lucky team. Keep going with this enthusiasm. Another thing that impressed me is the presence of students from other universities among us. If we combine all our minds and our science, something will emerge from that.” she said.
Assist. Prof. Dr. Cihan Taştan; “This is the success of a collaboration.”
Assist. Prof. Dr. Cihan Taştan from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics talked about the achievements in the RaDiChal competition. Dr. Cihan Taştan; “This year, the fourth RaDiChal competition featured a team composed of both Turkish-German University students and our Üsküdar University students. Wu Syndrome, one of the rarest diseases in the world, has only one article related to it, and such a disease was identified as one of RaDiChal 2021’s target diseases. A total of nearly twenty university teams participated, and our team, established in collaboration between Üsküdar University and Turkish-German University, received the highest score from a completely independent jury with their project and became champions.” he said.
The students who achieved great success presented their projects prepared within the scope of RaDiChal (Rare Disease Challenge) global rare diseases genetic therapy project competition in the senate meeting hall. In the RaDiChal’22 final, they received awards for best poster, best Wu Syndrome gene therapy, best gene therapy education, and the RaDiChal’22 championship. Dr. Cihan Taştan and his team started working in TRGENMER Laboratories to turn their projects into products. Team members Tuba Şevik and Selin Akdemir continue their education as 2nd-year students in the Molecular Biology and Genetics department at Üsküdar University, while team members Burak Bilgin, Dilay Yalçın, and Esra Karadeli continue their education as 2nd-year students in the Molecular Biotechnology department at Turkish-German University.
The students, who earned appreciation for their projects, presented flowers and plaques to Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan and Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, in turn, gifted the students a certificate of achievement and his book titled ‘Being a Conscious Young Person’.
The event concluded with a group photo session during the program, which was also attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Osman Çerezci.
About Althea
The ALTHEA team members consist of students from Üsküdar University and Turkish-German University. Team members Tuba ŞEVİK and Selin AKDEMİR are continuing their education as 2nd-year students in Molecular Biology and Genetics at Üsküdar University, while team members Burak BİLGİN, Dilay YALÇIN, and Esra KARADELİ are continuing their education as 2nd-year students in the Molecular Biotechnology department at Turkish-German University. The ALTHEA team began their work within the scope of the RaDiChal (Rare Disease Challenge) global rare diseases genetic therapy project competition last May, while they were still undergraduate 1st-year students. In the RaDiChal’22 final, held on October 15, 2022, they received awards for best poster, best Wu Syndrome gene therapy, best gene therapy education, and the RaDiChal’22 championship. They started working with Dr. Cihan Taştan and his team in TRGENMER Laboratories to turn their projects into products.
Genetic Therapy Project
As the ALTHEA team, within the scope of our genetic therapy project idea for Wu Syndrome (X-linked Wu type Intellectual Disability), which we started working on while still in our first year of undergraduate studies, we aimed to encompass all individuals suffering from the disease. With our CRISPR-associated Transposase-based genetic therapy project, we will be able to contribute to scientific literature by conducting the first studies on Wu Syndrome. The CRISPR-associated Transposase technology used can be applied not only in the treatment of Wu Syndrome but also in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS. The CAST system can also be used in muscle diseases like DMD (Duchenne muscular dystrophy) and in CAR T-cell therapies for cancer, in addition to neurodegenerative diseases. Our primary goal as a team is to conduct these important studies in Turkey for our country. For additional support for our project, we are also in communication with professors from the University of Adelaide in Australia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). We are already very excited about our project. We dream of starting our experiments as soon as possible and sharing results that can make a splash in the scientific community. During this process, we thank Dr. Cihan Taştan for sharing his valuable knowledge with us in the trainings he meticulously prepared, for teaching us in our meetings the idea that “values and ethics should always be prioritized in science,” and for his countless supports.