I am currently holding the position of Professor at the Fish Disease Department of the Faculty of Fisheries at Çukurova University in Türkiye. My field of expertise focusses primarily on the taxonomy of parasitic copepods associated with marine fishes. In particular, studying the biodiversity of caligid copepods, commonly referred to as ''sea lice'', on both native and invasive marine fish species in the Mediterranean, constitutes the core of my research. In addition to the systematics of caligid copepods, studies on the reproductive biology and the life cycle of members of the speciose genus Caligus also represent an important component of my research.

During my PhD, I was awarded Norwegian and Polish Government research grants which presented me with opportunities to work on the biology of parasitic copepods at the Austevoll Institute of Marine Research (IMR) & University of Bergen (UIB) in Norway and the West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin in Poland, respectively. In 2008, I attended the pre-conference workshop, organized by the World Association of Copepodologists and held in Khon Kaen, Thailand, on “Systematics, Morphology, and Techniques for Identification of Copepods and their Larval Stages”. This unique experience was a turning point in my career which shifted the focus of my research from ecologically based to taxonomically oriented studies on parasitic copepods. The shift of this focus made me concentrate on documenting the largely unknown biodiversity of fish-associated parasitic copepods in the Mediterranean basin and resulted in the publication of several taxonomic papers in collaboration with colleagues from different countries.       
      
In addition to my research-based activities, I delivered lectures to Turkish and international students at BSc, MSc, and PhD levels and have been actively involved in supervising MSc student projects. Apart from these academic responsibilities, I am responsible for the management of the Aquatic Parasitology Laboratory and the parasite collections, which I established in 2010 at the Faculty of Fisheries of Çukurova University.

Due to the financial support, I received from WAC back in 2002 and 2008, I had the opportunity to attend the ICOCs held in Taiwan and Thailand, respectively. Being previously scientifically isolated in my home country this experience led to a significant turning point in my research. The support provided by WAC enabled me to interact with inspiring scientists during these conferences, leading to collaborative scientific research that greatly accelerated my academic career. Given the impact WAC had on the development of my career, I will strive to support young scientists who are passionate about copepod research but lack financial resources. Finally, it is my strong desire to contribute to the education of the next generation of copepodologists and to introduce them to the rapidly advancing technology in our research field.