(2013-2017)
I am from Antakya, Turkey and I have been in the US since 2008. I got my M.S. degree in chemistry at Wright State University in June, 2012. I have been a graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics at Texas A&M since August, 2012 and I joined the Devarenne lab and the family of green algae researchers in May, 2013.
My research projects include using Raman spectroscopy to understand the structure of the botryococcene hydrocarbons produced by the B race of Botryococcus braunii. The project will entail purifying all isomers of botryococcene from the B race, analyzing their structures by GC/MS and NMR, and determining the specific Raman spectroscopy signatures for each isomer. These characteristic Raman signature of each molecule will be mapped in a live B. braunii colony using confocal Raman spectroscopy to understand biosynthesis and distribution of botryococcenes within the colony. A second project I am working on involves the characterization of the gene/enzyme responsible for production of the B race colony polysaccharide sheath.
Mehmet successfully defended his PhD thesis on 09.12.2017, and is now (as of 01.29.2018) a Postdoctoral Researcher in the lab of Daniel Amador-Noguez in the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin.