About
Haktan's involvement in scientific research began during his junior year of high school at Istanbul Medeniyet University where he was a research assistant on a project studying the drug resistance of triple-negative breast cancer cell lines.
He joined Erbay Lab his freshman year as the first undergraduate student of the lab. He participated in biomedical research investigating lysosomal gene pathways with a focus on sex differences in lysosomal biogenesis and metabolism. His work involved evaluating sex differences in gene expression related to lysosomal pathways in male and female mouse tissues and cells as well as in mice fed a high-fat diet.
Following his first year at Erbay Lab, he went to Koc University in Istanbul during the summer as a visiting researcher to identify the cellular agents that interact with the PCM1 scaffolding protein at various cell cycle stages. He worked on a project creating APEX2 proximity labelling and Auxin-Inducible Degron system constructs of interest with PCM1.
As of now, he is interested in the causal link between Integrated Stress Response (ISR) and cardiovascular disease. His current project focuses on linking L2HGDH enzyme with TET2 activity in the broader context of atherosclerosis and other metabolic diseases.
As a second-year Biology and Political Science double major at UCLA, he enjoys skiing, playing soccer, reading science fiction, watching sit-coms, and learning more about dinosaurs. He has a keen interest in Model United Nations, which has become an integral part of his identity. It is one of his lifelong goals to travel as much as he can and explore the world.