Assist Prof. Süleyman Üçüncüoğlu
[email protected]Dr. Suleyman Ucuncuoglu graduated from Bogazici University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree. He was awarded with the Fulbright opportunity grant for his PhD. He joined Emory University Biophysics graduate program in 2009. During his PhD, he studied the single molecule characterization of RNA Polymerase I (Pol I) enzyme which is responsible for ribosomal RNA transcription in eukaryotic cells. For his PhD research, he received the Biophysical Society Education Committee award in 2014.
In 2015, he accepted a postdoctoral research scientist position at the Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University in NY. His research at Columbia University focused on understanding the interactions of CRISPR/Cas9 with target DNA and he discovered the effect of DNA tension on CRISPR/Cas9 activity. While investigating the molecular mechanism of CRISPR/Cas9 systems, he invented a novel technique to bypass the PAM requirement of CRISPR endonucleases which turned into an international patent application by Columbia University in 2017. His proposal on developing gene therapies for sickle cell patients was awarded by Columbia University Translational Therapeutic Accelerator program for in 2019.
Dr. Ucuncuoglu joined Medipol University International School of Medicine in Fall 2019. He is currently working on developing gene therapies and diagnostic systems (such as Sars-Cov-2) using CRISPR technology. His project is funded by TUBITAK & European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant.
Selected Publications;
Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based COVID-19 Therapy: Bioengineering Perspectives
Karakaş, N., Üçüncüoğlu, S., Uludağ, D., Karaoğlan, B. S., Shah, K., & Öztürk, G. (2022). Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based COVID-19 Therapy: Bioengineering Perspectives. Cells, 11(3), 465.
Single Molecule Study of Tension Effects on Crispr/Cas9
Ucuncuoglu, S., Lundy, K. N., & Sahin, O. (2019). Single molecule study of tension effects on crispr/cas9. Biophysical Journal, 116(3), 326a.
Inhibitory Effect of the DNA Tension on the CRISPR/Cas9 Activities
Ucuncuoglu, S., Lundy, K., & Sahin, O. (2018). Inhibitory Effect of the DNA Tension on the CRISPR/Cas9 Activities. Biophysical Journal, 114(3), 253a.
Bypassing the PAM Region Requirement of the CRISPR-Cas9 System
Suleyman Ucuncuoglu, https://patents.google.com/patent/US20190300867A1/
Investigation of the Cas9 Mediated DNA Cleavage Using Time-Lapse AFM Imaging
Ucuncuoglu, Suleyman, and Ozgur Sahin, Biophysical Journal 3, no. 110 (2016): 238a.
Multiplexed, Tethered Particle Microscopy for Studies of DNA-Enzyme Dynamics
Ucuncuoglu, S., D. A. Schneider, E. R. Weeks, D. Dunlap, and L. Finzi.
Methods in Enzymology, Volume 581, Pages 2-598 (2016)
Direct Characterization of Transcription Elongation by RNA Polymerase I
Ucuncuoglu, Suleyman, K. L. Engel, P. K. Purohit, D. D. Dunlap, D. A. Schneider, L. Finzi
PloS one 11, no. 7 (2016): e0159527.
Enhanced Tethered-Particle Motion Analysis Reveals Viscous Effects
Sandip Kumar, Carlo Manzo, Chiara Zurla, Suleyman Ucuncuoglu, Laura Finzi, David Dunlap
Biophys J. 2014 January 21; 106(2): 399- 409.
Single Molecule Characterization of RNA Polymerase I: Force Free Kinetic Measurements
S Ucuncuoglu, DA Schneider, L Finzi
Biophysical Journal Volume: 104 Issue: 2 Supplement: 1 Pages: 585A Published: Jan 29 2013
Single Molecule Investigation of RNA Polymerase I using Multiplexed Tethered Particle Motion
S Ucuncuoglu, David A. Schneider, David Dunlap and Laura Finzi, Biophysical Journal, Volume 106, Issue 2, 489a, 28 January 2014
Investigation of RNA Polymerase I Transcription under Force-Free Condition by Single Molecule Technique
S Ucuncuoglu, DA Schneider, D Dunlap, L Finzi, Bulletin of the American Physical Society (2014)
A Single Molecule Perspective of Elongation by RNA Polymerase I
Ucuncuoglu, S., Schneider, D. A., Dunlap, D. D., & Finzi, L. Biophysical Journal 108, no. 2 (2015): 508a.