CV
Conference Presentations
August 2016
Hunter-gatherer social networks are optimized for cultural exchange
International Society for Behavioural Ecology, Exeter, UK
June 2016
How do hunter-gatherer children acquire survival skills?
Workshop: Children Seen and Heard Across the Globe, Leiden, Netherlands
April 2016
Knowledge sharing networks in Congo Basin hunter-gatherers and the evolution of cumulative culture
European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association Conference, London, UK
September 2015
Plant knowledge and use in Mbendjele hunter-gatherers of Congo
Eleventh Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies, Vienna, Austria
August 2015
Sharing of adaptive plant knowledge and its implications on resilience in Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers of the Congo Basin
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Symposium, Ankara, Turkey
July 2015 Sharing of adaptive plant knowledge and its implications on resilience in Mbendjele BaYaka hunter-gatherers of the Congo Basin
Evolutionary Medicine Conference, Zurich, Switzerland
February 2015
Plant knowledge and use in Mbendjele hunter-gatherers of Congo
Young natural history scientists’ meeting, Natural History Museum, Paris, France
November 2014
Future discounting in hunter-gatherers declines with transition towards a non-egalitarian social structure
London Evolutionary Research Network Conference, London, UK
July 2010
Does the winner always take all? Social context can change existing dominance hierarchies in shore crabs.
V European Conference on Behavioral Biology, Ferrara, Italy
Awards & Scholarships
2017
BBC World Service Future Voices Scheme
(Stipend to participate in a 6-week journalism training at the BBC)
2015-2016
Foundation Main Grant, Funds for Women Graduates
(Stipend to cover the final year of PhD, £6000)
February 2015
Best presentation award Young natural history scientists’ meeting, Natural History Museum, Paris, France
2014
UCL Grand Challenges Student Project Fund (Grant for a documentary film project entitled “Pygmies on the road”, £750)
2013-2016
The Leverhulme Trust PhD Studentship
(Full tuition, stipend, and contribution to research expenses as part of Hunter-Gatherer Resilience project led by Dr. Andrea Migliano, £70000)
2012
NIMBioS- NESCent travel grant (For participation in the NIMBioS workshop on Modeling Social Complexity, Knoxville, USA)
2010-2012
Erasmus Mundus Master’s Scholarship, European Union (Full tuition, stipend, and travel and installation expenses, €48000)
2009
Undergraduate Research Experience & Knowledge Award (UREKA)
Science Foundation Ireland
(Award for participation in a ten-week research program: “Integrating Ecology and Evolution in a Changing World”, The School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, €2800)
Education
2013-2017
Ph.D., University College London, UK
Biological Anthropology
2010-2012
M.Sc., Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Evolutionary Biology (Joint master programme)
University of Groningen, Netherlands 2010-2011 University of Montpellier II, France 2010-2011 University of British Columbia, Canada 2011-2012
2006-2010
B.Sc., Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Teaching & Supervision
2013-2017
Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, UCL
Led tutorials and lab sessions in Human Behavioural Ecology, Biological Anthropology and Statistics
2015-2016
Supervision of Master's Project in Evolution and Human Behaviour, UCL - Food taboos in Mbendjele Pygmy hunter-gatherers
Reviewer
Evolution and Human Behavior
Infancy
South African Journal of Botany
Languages
Turkish (Native)
English (Fluent, TOEFL: 213/220)
French (Intermediate, B1)