Gizem Donmez looks forward to celebrating two successful years as an assistant professor at Tufts University. It was in October of 2011 that she joined the Department of Neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine. “I was invited to join the faculty at Tufts University in Boston, which was not too far from where I had completed my postdoctoral fellowship,” says Gizem Donmez.

After graduating with her PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry from Max Plank Institute of Biophysical Chemistry in Germany, Gizem Donmez worked on her postdoctoral fellowship from 2007 to 2011, at MIT. “At MIT, I worked with Leonard Guarente studying the role of sirtuins in both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. After joining the Department of Neuroscience at Tufts University, I continued my research on the role of sirtuins and neurodegenerative diseases,” explains Gizem Donmez.

While her position at the university is still relatively new, Gizem Donmez has already experienced many successes at the university. Prior to her position at Tufts, Gizem Donmez had seven published research articles, which were all published between 2004 and 2011. However, in less than two years’ time at Tufts University, Gizem Donmez was successfully published eight times in a number of scientific journals and magazines.

“I am grateful for the recognition I’ve received in regards to my work at Tufts University. I am glad to contribute to science and understanding the behavior of molecules in relation to neurodegenerative disease,” says Gizem Donmez.

In June of 2013, Gizem Donmez was invited to attend a symposium on Parkinson’s disease. As a scholar of degenerative disease, Gizem Donmez was honored to present her research on the first day of the symposium held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “I was one of many presenters and I hope to be invited to similar symposiums and conferences in the future,” says Gizem Donmez.

While still new to her role at the university in 2012, Gizem Donmez was extremely honored to be named a 2012 New Scholar in Aging by the Ellison Medical Foundation. For now, Gizem Donmez continues her work at Tufts University and looks forward to the contributions she can make in her field.