Prof. Dr. Murat Günel Speaks at the Opening of Bahçeşehir University's Genetics Department

The Bahçeşehir University Genetics and Bioinformatics Undergraduate Program has opened. During their education, which Bahçeşehir University will carry out in cooperation with Yale University in the USA under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Murat Günel, students of the department will have the chance to work in Yale University's genetics laboratories.

The Bahçeşehir University Genetics and Bioinformatics Undergraduate Program is opening. The Department of Genetics and Bioinformatics will carry out this education in cooperation with Yale University in the USA. Students following the research in Yale University's laboratories with Prof. Dr. Murat Günel, Member of the Bahçeşehir University Board of Trustees, Chief of the Section of Neurovascular Surgery and Director of the Neurogenetics Program at Yale University, will have the chance to keep up with the latest developments. Speaking at the department's introductory meeting, Prof. Dr. Murat Günel said that interpreting the results of genetic research is extremely important, and that for this reason bioinformatics-focused studies have become as important a field as genetics in recent years. Günel said, "All genetic studies are focused on the early detection of diseases. For example, on the very day we are born, we will be able to know with 100 percent certainty which diseases or which types of cancer we are at risk of. What will this achieve? We will develop personalized cancer treatments. Genetics is currently an equation with many unknowns. To solve it, we need qualified human resources. With this department we have opened at Bahçeşehir University in Türkiye, we will train experts capable of interpreting gene maps in the coming years." Günel said that they would carry out studies on solving genetic problems in Türkiye, particularly those arising from consanguineous marriages.

Among the 20 students to be admitted to the Bahçeşehir University Genetics and Bioinformatics undergraduate program, successful students will benefit from Yale University's laboratory facilities under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Murat Günel, Member of the Bahçeşehir University Board of Trustees, Chief of the Section of Neurovascular Surgery and Director of the Neurogenetics Program at Yale University.

Established under the Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Arts and Sciences in light of developments in genetics, the "Genetics and Bioinformatics" undergraduate program will begin admitting students with the new academic year.

Genetics, which works on deciphering the genetic codes that program the formation of living organisms and using these codes for improvement in many fields such as medicine and biotechnology, also makes it possible to make accurate diagnoses and create personalized treatment options for many incurable diseases.

Thanks to techniques developed over the past 20 years, molecular biology has witnessed comprehensive developments at a wide variety of levels. Rapid DNA sequencing methods have made it possible to obtain genetic data on a wide variety of species. However, storing and analyzing this data, which accumulates at an incredible speed and volume, has become increasingly difficult. In this context, developing technology has contributed greatly to carefully storing, organizing, combining, classifying and easily accessing this accumulated data, and the science of bioinformatics has thus emerged.

The main fields of study in genetics and bioinformatics can be grouped under two main headings: research-based and applied. The program aims to provide basic knowledge and skills related to these two aspects of genetics and bioinformatics. To this end, the fundamentals and discipline of engineering will be taught within the program, on top of which compulsory courses such as genetics, computational biology, programming and algorithms will be offered, along with elective courses that will help students determine the fields in which they will specialize.