People
We strive to build a team of motivated young scientists from diverse backgrounds to make discoveries and challenge established dogmas.
Principal Investigator
Munir Gunes Kutlu, PhD
Gunes got his Ph.D. at Duke University under Dr. Nestor Schmajuk’s mentorship. During this time, he was trained as a computational neuroscientist developing neural network models in order to understand the theoretical principles of learning and memory. Following his graduation in 2013, he joined Dr. Tom Gould’s laboratory at Temple University as a Post-Doctoral Fellow. There he studied behavioral, neural and molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of nicotine exposure on acquisition, extinction, and recovery of fear memories. In 2017, Gunes joined Dr. Erin Calipari's lab at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine as a Research Instructor, where he studied dopaminergic mechanisms underlying reward and aversive learning. Dr. Kutlu joined Rowan-Virtua SOM as an assistant professor of neuroscience in 2023.
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email: kutlu@rowan.edu
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Our Team
Oyku Dinckol, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow​
Oyku completed her Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology and Genetics, and Master’s in Neuroscience in Istanbul, Turkey. During her Master’s, she worked with Dr. Deniz Atasoy on neural circuitry of appetite by using cutting edge technologies such as chemogenetics-optogenetics. In 2018, she has been awarded with Marie SkÅ‚odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)-ITN fellowship and started to work on neurodevelopmental effects of metal exposure with Dr. Gemma Calamandrei in Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian National Institute of Health) in Rome, Italy. During her MSCA-ITN fellowship, she carried out the in vivo part of the NEUROSOME project. Oyku received her PhD on Pharmacology & Toxicology from Sapienza University of Rome in 2022.
Noah Wenger,
MS
Lab Manager/Technician
Noah obtained his Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Stockton University in 2020. During that time, he worked under Dr. Nathaniel Hartman for his research in mTOR pathway activation and its role in neural stem cell development using techniques such as cell culturing, immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and confocal microscopy. In 2022 he earned his Master's degree in Biomedical Science from Rowan Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Zehra Bozdag,
MD
Visiting Student
Zehra graduated as an MD from Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey. She is also a final year student in Philosophy. During her time in college, she founded the Addiction and Psychiatry Club and served as a board member. She has a keen interest in neurobehavior and is currently pursuing a residency in neurology.
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