Expertise and current research performed: Genetics Department of the Institute for Experimental Medicine is the reference research Institute of the Istanbul Universitesi (Istanbul University) that has 5 different Departments including Genetics. In Genetics Department, Prof. Ozbek’s lab is the leading lab of molecular genetics in Turkey and is well recognized internationally. The group’s mission is to contribute to the improvement of Turkish researchers and of lead them to international standard. The Department is the reference centre in the field of molecular genetic studies on epilepsies. Members of Prof. Ozbek’s lab regularly publish papers on leading journals about neurogenetics, cancer genetics and molecular genetics. They also attend national and international conferences and workshops in order to follow the latest advances in the research field. In 2001, the Turkish familial DNA bank was established in IU, Genetics Department by a grant from Turkish Society of Epilepsy and Istanbul University, in which the familial as well as sporadic epilepsy samples is collected nationwide. Currently, 3 different linkage analysis and candidate gene approach based research projects on epilepsy genetics are ongoing in the Department.

Facilities/Equipment: The Genetics Department is well equipped that has capable of all the current molecular genetics applications (from genomic extraction to QPCR; from recombinant DNA to tissue culture).

Personnel involved in the project

Principal investigator: Ugur Ozbek (M). Professor of Genetics. MD., PhD., Faculty member in Genetics Department since 1996. He was worked as research fellow in the Genetics Department of St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, USA, between 1997-2000. He has research grants from the European Union FP6 program, the EU’s Erasmus-Socrates Program, Turkish State Research Council (TUBITAK) and the Turkish Society of Epilepsy. He also contributes to teaching for Ph.D and MSc program in Genetics held by the Health Institute of Istanbul University, and also organize practical courses. He is currently responsible from epilepsy DNA bank of Turkish Society of Epilepsy. His current interest is molecular genetics of epilepsies and molecular genetics of childhood leukemia

Betul Baykan (F). Professor in Neurology. MD. Faculty member in Department of Neurology, Istanbul University. She is faculty member in Neurology Department since 1997. Her academic interests are EEG, clinical phenotyping of IGEs and familial epilepsies with complex inheritance pattern. She has publications on problems for unraveling the genetic etiology of this group of disorders and epileptogenesis. Filiz Onat (F). Professor of Pharmacology and clinical pharmacology, MD, PhD. She is experienced on experimental pharmacology. She is experienced on experimental models of epilepsy as well as clinical pharmacology, such as therapeutic effectiveness of antiepileptic drugs, pharmacogenetics. Naci Cine (M). PhD. Research Associate in Genetics Department. He has completed his Ph.D thesis about Linkage analysis in Turkish epilepsy families and he has been executing additional research projects on epilepsy genetics since 2000. His research interests are linkage analysis, bioinformatics and genetic polymorphism. Nerses Bebek (M). PhD student. MD, PhD.candidate. Specialist in Neurology. He has completed his speciality thesis on candidate loci analysis in Turkish idiopathic epilepsy families. His research interests are familial epilepsies, MTS, differential gene expression patterns in epileptogenesis. Cigdem Ozkara. (F) Professor Neurology University Istanbul, Institute Neurological Sciences. Secretary of  ILAE European Commission and SIROTF. Research interests: temporal lobe epilepsy, epilepsy surgery, genetics of epilepsies. Emrah Yucesan (M), B.Sc. in medical biology, master student in genetics. Ebru Nur VANLI (F), MD,  Neurologist, patient recruitment, phenotyping

Recent relevant publications/patents

1.        Baykan B, Striano P, Gianotti S, Bebek N, Gennaro E, Gürses C, Zara F. (2005) Late onset and slow progressing Lafora disease in four siblings with EPM2B mutation. Epilepsia 46: 1695-7.

2.        Einav U, Tabach Y, Get G, Yitzhaky A, Ozbek U, Amariglio N, Izraeli S_, Rechavi and Domany E. (2005) Gene expression analysis reveals a strong signature of an interferon induced pathway in childhood lymphoblastic leukemia as well as in breast and ovarian cancer. Oncogene. 22;24(42):6367-75.

3.        Cardone M, Kandilci A, Carella C, Nilsson JA, Brennan JA, Sirma S, Ozbek U, Boyd K, Cleveland JL, Grosveld GC. (2005) The Novel ETS Factor TEL2 Cooperates with Myc in B Lymphomagenesis. Mol and Cell Biol. 25(6): 2395–2405.

4.        Sirvanci S, Meshul CK, Onat F, San T. (2005) Glutamate and GABA immunocytochemical electron microscopy in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of normal and genetic absence epilepsy rats. Brain Res, 1053:108-115.

5.        Baykan B, Madia F, Bebek N, Gianotti S, Güney Aİ, Çine N, Bianchi A, Gökyiğit A, Zara F. (2004) Autosomal recessive idiopathic epilepsy in an inbred family from Turkey: Identification of putative locus on chromosome 9q32-33. Epilepsia 45: 479-87