Zeki Ilkan, PhD

Zeki Ilkan, PhD has extensive experience in the field of biosciences. Zeki began their career in 2013 as a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Student at the University of Leicester, where they worked on a Medical Research Council (MRC)-funded project to investigate the roles of novel ion channels in platelet and vascular physiology, and in cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis and thrombosis. During this time, they also served as a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant, conducting undergraduate level practicals and final year tutorial classes for the 'Cellular Physiology of the Cardiovascular System' module. In 2017, they moved to the Mount Sinai Health System as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, where they investigated the role of mitochondrial ion channels in the development of cardiac arrhythmias through generation of reactive oxygen species. Zeki then joined the University of Oxford in 2019 as a British Heart Foundation (BHF) Postdoctoral Research Scientist, where they discovered the role of TMEM16A chloride channels in contractile pericytes in the brain cortex which regulate blood flow through capillaries. Zeki also developed an imaging assay to study the role of this ion channel in coronary circulation. Currently, they are employed as a Scientist at Metrion Biosciences, beginning in 2022.

Zeki Ilkan, PhD has an education history that includes a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biochemistry (Hons) from Imperial College London, obtained between 2008 and 2011. Zeki also obtained a Master of Research (MRes) and Diploma of Imperial College (DIC) from Imperial College London between 2012 and 2013, with a field of study in Biomedical Research. Prior to this, they attended The English School, Nicosia, where they studied Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Mathematics. In addition, they obtained a Venepuncture/Phlebotomy Workshop certification from University College London in March 2014.