Prof. Turgay ŞİŞMAN

Professor Turgay Şişman was born in Yusufeli, Artvin, Türkiye, in 1976. He completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Yusufeli. In 1995, he enrolled in the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Atatürk University, and graduated in 1999 as the top-ranked student in his department.

In the same year, he was appointed as a primary school teacher in Koşapınar Village, Aşkale, Erzurum. In 2000, he joined the Division of Molecular Biology within the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Atatürk University, as a research assistant. He completed his master’s degree in 2004 with a thesis entitled “Clastogenic Effects of Aflatoxin B1 on the Polytene Chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster” and earned his PhD in 2007 with a dissertation entitled “Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Compounds on the Development of Danio rerio (Zebrafish).”

In 2007, he was appointed Assistant Professor in the Division of General Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science. He was among the founding faculty members of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, which was established within the Faculty of Science in 2009. In 2010, he co-chaired the First National Palandöken Toxicology Symposium, held in Erzurum with the participation of the Turkish Society of Toxicology.

In 2012, he was awarded the title of Associate Professor in Biology, specializing in Developmental Biology and Aquatic Toxicology. In 2017, he was appointed Professor in the Division of General Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science. In 2022, he was appointed Professor in the Division of Genetics, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, at the same faculty, where he continues to serve.

His research interests include toxicology, developmental biology, ecotoxicology, zebrafish development, animal histology, and histopathology. Professor Şişman has published a total of 70 scientific works in these fields, 44 of which are indexed in SCI or SCIE. He has supervised 21 graduate theses, including four doctoral dissertations and 17 master’s theses.

As part of an international research project that he coordinated, Professor Şişman spent a period conducting research at SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) in Jordan. He has participated in 38 research projects, four of which were international.

Throughout his academic career, he has held various administrative positions, including Dean, Vice Dean, Vice Chair of Department, Head of Division, member of the University Executive Board, member of the University Senate, and Chair of the Research Ethics Committee. Professor Turgay Şişman is married and has three children.