This is my curriculum vitae.

My Education

University of Copenhagen‍

Copenhagen, Denmark

Ph.D. in Social Psychology

August 2026 – July 2029 (Expected)

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions PhD Fellow Gender-InSIGHT Doctoral Network Doctoral Project: Implicit Theories of Gender/Sex, Gender Expression, and Psychosocial Adjustment among Non-Cisgender Populations.

University of Groningen

Groningen, Netherlands‍

M.Sc., Behavioural and Social Sciences ‍

Understanding Societal Change - Social Psychology‍ ‍

September 2024 – June 2026 ‍ CGPA: 8.0/10.0

Master Thesis Grade: 8.5/10.0

Different facets of identity centrality: divergent mental health implications for sexual minorities in the high structural stigma context of Türkiye.

Assessors: Asst. Prof. Dr. Yasin Koc, Asst. Prof. Dr. Wouter Kiekens

Middle East Technical University

Ankara, Türkiye

B.S., Psychology ‍

September 2019 – January 2024 CGPA: 3.92/4.0

Ranked 8th out of 135 in the Psychology Department ‍ ‍

B.S., Sociology

March 2021 – June 2024 CGPA: 3.85/4.0 ‍ ‍

Research Experience

University of Zurich

Zurich, Switzerland

Scientific Collaborator: Global LGBTIQ+ Health Project

PI: Prof. Dr. Tabea Hässler

June 2026 – June 2030 (expected)‍

  • Contribute to a five-year international research project involving more than 100 scholars across over 70 countries, focused on advancing LGBTIQ+ health and well-being across diverse cultural and sociopolitical contexts.

  • Provide country-specific perspectives and expertise related to Türkiye and Denmark.

  • Collaborate with researchers, public institutions, community organisations, and LGBTIQ+ health experts to support the development of a global LGBTIQ+ health survey.

  • Contribute to discussions on inclusive measurement, minority stress, discrimination, identity, and health outcomes.

  • Serve as a member of the discrimination working group and contribute to the development of a cross-national paper on discrimination against LGBTIQ+ populations.

University of Groningen

Groningen, Netherlands‍

Research Intern: Koç Social Identities Lab

PI: Asst. Prof. Dr. Yasin Koç

April 2025 – present

  • Conducted literature review and became a co-author of a qualitative paper on STI risk perception in men who have sex with men and heterosexual university students.

  • Worked on scale development for STI risk perception and partner notification motivation for at-risk groups.

  • Participated in weekly laboratory meetings.

University of Groningen

Groningen, Netherlands‍

Student Assistant

PI: Asst. Prof. Dr. Wouter Kiekens

November 2024 – November 2025

  • Conducted a systematic literature reviewand became a co-first author of a meta-analysis on the chemsex prevalence in sexual minorities.

  • Reviewed 3600 abstracts and 160 full texts and coded data from 95 articles.

  • Managed the data coding database and coordinated data entry.

  • Contacted authors for missing data from 30 articles.

Stony Brook University

New York, USA (virtual attendance)‍

Research Assistant: Social and Neuro-Affective Predictors of Psychopathology (SNAPP) Laboratory

PI: Asst. Prof. Dr. Benjamin Katz

June 2022 – June 2025

  • Conducted a systematic literature review and became a co-author of a meta-analysis on social support and internalizing psychopathology in sexual and gender minorities.

  • Reviewed 2700 abstracts and 730 full texts and coded data from 120 articles.

  • Contacted authors for missing data from 110 articles.

  • Participated in weekly laboratory meetings and presented on current sexual and gender minority research.

  • Managed the data coding database and coordinated data entry among a team of six.

  • Trained new research assistants.

Middle East Technical University

Ankara, Türkiye ‍

Undergraduate Research Assistant: Political Psychology (PP) Laboratory

PI: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Banu Cingöz-Ulu

September 2021 – June 2024

  • Conducted research on a new form of self-silencing behavior in sexual minorities, created an adaptation of a new scale that assesses self-silencing to heterosexism, and investigated the relation between self-silencing, internalized homophobia, discrimination, and depression.

  • Participated in weekly laboratory meetings about collective action, social identity, culture, and presented on sexual and gender minority research.

  • Helped with data collection using Qualtrics for several studies.

  • Presented findings at an international conference.

Middle East Technical University

Ankara, Türkiye ‍

Undergraduate Researcher: Psychology of Gender Laboratory

PI: Prof. Dr. Nuray Sakallı

March 2023 – September 2024

  • Conducted quantitative and qualitative research on economic abuse, honor culture, and well-being in women.

  • Participated in weekly laboratory meetings and presented on sexism and violence against women.

  • Coordinated a team of 6 to generate interview questions for the qualitative study.

  • Helped find participants and data collection.

  • Part of the team that transcribed 14 semi-structured interviews and analyzed data using thematic analysis.

  • Worked on scale development for an adaptation of an economic abuse scale.

  • Presented findings at an international conference.

University of Groningen

Groningen, Netherlands (virtual attendance) ‍

Undergraduate Researcher: Psychology of Gender Laboratory

PI: Asst. Prof. Dr. Pelin Gül

August 2023 – October 2023

  • Contributed to the writing and editing of an article about judgments of benevolent sexism.

  • Participated in meetings and presented judgments of sexism, intention, and harm in the workplace and social settings.

University of Groningen

Groningen, Netherlands (virtual attendance) ‍

Undergraduate Researcher: Psychology of Gender Laboratory

PI: Asst. Prof. Dr. Pelin Gül

August 2023 – October 2023

  • Contributed to the writing and editing of an article about judgments of benevolent sexism.

  • Participated in meetings and presented judgments of sexism, intention, and harm in the workplace and social settings.

Honors & Awards

High Honor Student Psychology Department

Middle East Technical University, Spring 2020 – Fall 2024

High Honor Student Sociology Department

Middle East Technical University, Spring 2021– Spring 2024

Erasmus Summer Traineeship

KU Leuven Psychology Department, Summer 2023

Grants

Talent Grant (€10,000)

University of Groningen, October 2024 – October 2025‍

NL Scholarship (€5,000)

Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, October 2024 – April 2025

Grant Program for Participation in Scientific Meetings Abroad (€1,400)

Tübitak (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye), August 2024

Grant for Participation in the Global LGBTIQ+ Health Workshop and the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) Conference (€270)

Global LGBTIQ+ Health Project, June 2026 ‍ ‍

Language & Additional Skills

Languages

  • English – C1

    • IELTS: Overall: 8/9, Reading: 8, Listening: 9, Speaking: 8.5, Writing: 6.5 | Test Date: 26/11/2023

    • The official language of education is English at my home university (University of Groningen)

  • Turkish – Native

Software Competency

  • Proficient in: R, Jamovi, ASReview, Rayyan, Qualtrics, SPSS

  • Beginner in: MATLAB, MAXQDA

Last Updated: July 2026