Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evin İşcan

Biography

Dr. Evin İşcan graduated from the Department of Biology at Ege University in 2006. She received her M.Sc. degree in 2009 and her Ph.D. in 2014 from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Dokuz Eylül University. She worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center. Her research focuses on cancer biology and the molecular mechanisms underlying rare diseases. Since 2024, she has been serving as a faculty member at the Izmir International Biomedicine and Genome Institute, Dokuz Eylül University, where she contributes to graduate education and training.

Research Areas

Our research group focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of cancer, particularly liver cancer and neuroblastoma. We employ zebrafish (Danio rerio) xenograft models together with in vitro platforms to analyze disease biology using an integrated approach. In addition, we develop minigene-based analysis systems to evaluate the functional impact of genetic variants, with a particular emphasis on elucidating the molecular consequences of variants in rare and

Research Team:

İnci Yaprak (Ph.D. Candidate)
Miray Sevinin (M.Sc. Student)
Elif Çakmak (M.Sc. Student)
Arya Bilir (M.Sc. Student)

Ongoing and Completed Projects

1. Project Title: Investigation of the Role of the Gamma-Tubulin Gene in Brain Development via the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway Using a Zebrafish Model
Project Type: TÜSEB A-Group Research Project
Project Team:
Dr. Evin İşcan (Principal Investigator) – IBG
Prof. Dr. Güneş Özhan (Advisor) – IBG
Duration: 12 months
Project Period: March 22, 2022 – March 22, 2023

2. Project Title: Investigation of Sorafenib Resistance Mechanisms in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and the Role of the TAp73β Transcription Factor in Cell Proliferation, Metastasis, and Angiogenesis under Sorafenib Treatment Using a Zebrafish Xenograft Model
Project Type: TÜBİTAK Project – 3501 National Young Investigator Career Development Program
Project Team:
Dr. Evin İşcan (Principal Investigator) – IBG
Prof. Dr. Güneş Özhan (Advisor) – IBG
Prof. Dr. Şerif Şentürk (Advisor) – IBG
Dr. Gökhan Yıldız (Researcher) – Karadeniz Technical University
Duration: 36 months
Project Period: May 1, 2023 – May 1, 2026

3. Project Title: Investigation of the Molecular Mechanisms of p73-Mediated Sorafenib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Project Type: Higher Education Institutions Funded Project (BAP Research Project)
Project Team:
Dr. Evin İşcan (Principal Investigator) – IBG
Dr. Tuğçe Batur (Researcher) – IBG
Duration: 18 months
Project Period: September 11, 2025 – March 11, 2027>

4. Project Title: Elucidating the Role of GDF15 in Cisplatin Resistance in Neuroblastoma Using APEX2-Based Proteomic Analyses and Identification of Novel Therapeutic Targets
Project Type: TÜBİTAK Project – 1001 Scientific and Technological Research Projects Funding Program
Project Team:
Dr. Evin İşcan (Principal Investigator) – IBG
Prof. Dr. Ceyda Açılan Ayhan (Advisor) – Koç University
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gülnihal Özcan (Advisor) – Ankara University
Dr. Umut Ekin (Researcher) – Tınaztepe University
Duration: 36 months
Project Status: Contract stage

Publications

1.       Evin Ozen, Aysim Gozukızıl, Esra Erdal, Aykut Uren, Donnald P Bottaro, Nese Atabey. Heparin Inhibits Hepatocyte Growth Factor Induced Motility and Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through Early Growth Response Protein 1 (2012).   PLOS ONE, 7(8), Doi: . doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042717
2.        Aysim Gunes, Evin İşcan, Topel Hande, Sanem Tercan Avcı, Mukaddes Gumustekin, Esra Erdal, Nese Atabey. Heparin treatment increases thioredoxin interacting protein expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells (2015).  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY & CELL BIOLOGY(65), 169-181., Doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2015.05.025 
3.        Evin İşcan, Aysim Gunes, Peyda Korhan, Yeliz Yılmaz, Erdal Esra, Nese Atabey. The regulatory role of heparin on c Met signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma cells (2016).  Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling, Doi: 10.1007/s12079-016-0368-0 
4.        Zeynep Fırtına Karagonlar, Dogukan Koc, Evin İşcan, Esra Erdal, Nese Atabey. Elevated hepatocyte growth factor expression as an autocrine c Met activation mechanism in acquired resistance to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma cells (2016). Cancer Science, 107(4):407-16.doi: 10.1111/cas.12891. 
5.       Sana Ferroudj, Gokhan Yıldız, Mourad Bouras, Evin İşcan, Umut Ekin, Mehmet Öztürk.  Role of Fanconi Anemia BRCA Pathway Genes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Chemoresistance (2016).  Hepatology Research, 46(12), 1264-1274., Doi: 10.1111/hepr.12675.  
6.       Güneş Ayşim, Bağırsakçı Ezgi, İşcan Evin, Gulcin Cakan-Akdogan, Aykutlu Umut, Serif Şentürk, Güneş Özhan, Erdal Esra, Nart Deniz, Yılmaz Funda, Atabey Neşe. New roles of Thioredoxin Interacting Protein as an Invasion Promoting Gene in Hepatocelular Carcinoma (2018). Oncotarget, 36849–36866. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.26402
7.       Umur Keleş,  Evin İşcan, Huriye Erbak Yılmaz, Gökhan Karakülah, Aslı Suner, Erhan Bal, Nilgün Taşdemir, Ayse Derya Cavga, Umut Ekin, Zeynep Mutlu, Sıla Kahyaoğlu, Neşe Atabey, Mehmet Ozturk. Differential expression of full length and N-terminally truncated FAM134B isoforms in normal physiology and cancer (2020). American Journal of Physiology, 319(6):G733-G747.doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00094.2020
8.        Evin Iscan, Umut Ekin, Gökhan Yildiz, Ozden Oz, Umur Keles, Aslı Suner, Gulcin CakanAkdogan, Günes Ozhan, Marta Nekulova, Borijov Vojtesek, Hamdiye Uzuner, Gökhan Karakülah, Hani Alotaibi  and Mehmet Ozturk. TAp73 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma dedifferentiation (2021). Cancers (Basel), 13(4):783. doi: 10.3390/cancers13040783.
9.       Ozden Oz, Evin Iscan, Batur Tugce, Oztürk Mehmet. 3D organoid modelling of hepatoblast-like and mesenchymal-like hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (2021). Hepatoma Research, 7:60, doi.10.20517/2394-5079.2021.43
10.    Pınar Cavusoglu-Burhan, Evin Iscan, Aysim Gunes, Nese Atabey, Tunc Alkın. Increased telomerase activity in major depressive disorder with melancholic features: Possible role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (2021). Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health, 14:100259, doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100259
11.    Hülya Akgun, Gunes Yildirim, Ozlem Ozakpinar, Merve Duracık, Mehmet Ozturk, Evin İşcan, Faika Basoglu. Synthesis and studies of anticancer and antimicrobial activity of new phenylurenyl chalcone derivatives (2022). Letters in Drug Design & Discovery  2022.
12.   Evin İşcan, Gökhan Karakülah, Umut Ekin, Mehmet Ozturk, Hamdiye Uzuner, Aslı Suner. TAp73α IS UPREGULATED IN THE MOST COMMON HUMAN CANCERS (2022). Molecular Biology 2022 
13.   Balcı Özyurt A, Erkekoğlu P, Zeybek ND, Aşcı A, Yaman Ü, Oflaz O, Kızılgün M, İşcan E, Batur T, Öztürk M, Koçer-Gümüşel B.  Toxic effects of Aroclor 1254 9on rat liver and modifying roles selenium (2023). Int J Environ Health Res. 2023.
14.   Akçaöz-Alasar A, Tüncel Ö, Sağlam B, Gazaloğlu Y, Atbinek M, Cagiral U, Iscan E, Ozhan G, Akgül B. Epitranscriptomics m6A analyses reveal distinct m6A marks under tumor necrosis  factor α   (TNF-α)-induced apoptotic conditions in HeLa cells (2024). J Cell Physiol. 2024
15.   Karahan M, Kiziltan Eliacik BB, Cagiral U, Iscan E, Ozhan G.   Investigation of the biocompatibility of various pulp capping materials on zebrafish model (2024). PLoS One 2024.
16.   Cark O, Katkat E, Aydogdu I, Iscan E, Oktay Y, Ozhan G. tubg1 Somatic Mutants Show Tubulinopathy-Associated Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in a Zebrafish Model (2024). Mol Neurobiology 2024
17.   Elucidating the impact of a synonymous SEC24D variant on aberrant splicing in a patient with colecarpenter syndrome 2. (2025). Süncak S., Tüysüz B., Yıldırım R.N., Gürsoy S. ,Uludağ Alkaya D., Abacı A. , Özzeybek E., Batur T., Yaprak İ.,  İşcan E.,et al. JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS.

Contact: evin.iscan@ibg.edu.tr