I earned my bachelor's degree in food engineering from Ankara University, Turkey. During my undergraduate studies, I completed an internship in Professor Glenn Gibson’s research group at the University of Reading, where the research I conducted further inspired my aspiration for an academic career. Subsequently, I obtained a master's degree from the Izmir Institute of Technology, conducting my thesis in the field of microencapsulation of probiotics and functional food development under the supervision of Professor Sebnem Harsa. Following that, I dedicated over three years to my role as a research/teaching assistant. I joined the Functional Microbe Technology group in October 2023, and am excited to work on exploring the dose-dependent impacts of L-fucose on the human intestinal microbiota during my PhD.”