Hello from Amsterdam! My name is Canan Durukan. Right after obtaining my master’s degree in Chemistry in Istanbul, Turkey, I started my PhD in Sven’s Lab at VU Amsterdam in summer 2020. My research focus is on bimolecular interactions and their modifications, specifically for protein-protein interaction modifications of the NF-Y transcription factor. The major part of my work so far was the study of proteins and ligand binding. It is both interesting and fun to carry out research about proteins and discover this complex world of proteins and crystallography.
Last June I attended a summer school about data collection and structure determination in macromolecular crystallography at MAX IV which is organized by MAX IV Laboratory and Aarhus University. There were both theoretical lectures given by international experts and practical exercises. It was pretty exciting and inspiring to be among the participants and have a chance to meet a group of experts in their field with great insights and having heard about their knowledge and experiences as well as being at a synchrotron and meeting beamline scientists. I do believe that these organizations, in which scientists from different places come together for sharing and exchanging knowledge, are very encouraging and valuable. We are mostly focused on our own work and these occasions help us step back and consider the big picture by seeing what everyone else is doing.
I joined the NVK Young Researchers Retreat last September. It was nice to meet researchers in Dutch crystallography association in person.
Bio: Canan graduated from Yildiz Technical University, Turkey with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. She then started her Master’s studies in polymer chemistry at Istanbul Technical University. After her graduation in the summer 2020, she started her PhD in Sven’s lab at the beginning of August 2020 to work on understanding protein-protein interactions and their modifications.