Prof. Dr. Safiye Çavdar graduated from TED Ankara College high school, continued her higher education at Hacettepe University Science Faculty, and received her master degree from Hacettepe Medical Faculty, and Doctorate degree from Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty. She has conducted researches at Queens Medical Center Nottingham UK. with Professor Geffrey Burwell on spinal cord  and the vertebral column. Dr. Çavdar’s research interests include the role of thalamus in absence epilepsy using immunohistochemistry and electron-microscopy. Further, the connections of the central nervous system using retrograde and anterograde traces on experimental animals.  Ongoing study correlates the activity of the various thalamic nuclei in Wistar control and genetic absence epilepsy model, GAERS animals using immunohistochemistry. Aims to define the role of thalamic nuclei in the mechanism of absence epilepsy.  In addition, separate experiments seek to identify novel pathways of superior, middle and inferior cerebellar peduncles.

Selected Publications

Kirazlı Ö, Çavdar S, Yıldızel S, Onat F, Kaptanoğlu E. A developmental study of glutamatergic neuron populations in the ventrobasal and the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus: Comparing Genetic Absence Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) and normal control wistar rats. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2017 Feb;56:35-41. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2016.12.001. Epub 2016 Dec 6.

Çavdar S, Özgür M, Kirazlı Ö, Karahüseyinoğlu S, Onat F. Comparing glutamatergic neuron population in the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus of genetic absence epilepsy rats from strasbourg (GAERS) and normal control Wistar rats. J Chem Neuroanat. 2016 Nov;77:93-99. doi: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2016.05.009. Epub 2016 Jun 1.

Cavdar S, Bay HH, Yildiz SD, Akakin D, Sirvanci S, Onat F. Comparison of numbers of interneurons in three thalamic nuclei of normal and epileptic rats. Neurosci Bull. 2014 Jun;30(3):451-60. doi: 10.1007/s12264-013-1402-3. Epub 2014 Feb 10.

Cavdar S, Hacıoğlu H, Doğukan SY, Onat F.Comparing GABAergic cell populations in the thalamic reticular nucleus of normal and genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS). Neurol Sci. 2012 Apr;33(2):251-9. doi: 10.1007/s10072-011-0666-5. Epub 2011 Jul 1.

Cavdar S, Hacıoğlu H, Doğukan SY, Onat F. Do the quantitative relationships of synaptic junctions and terminals in the thalamus of genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) differ from those in normal control Wistar rats. Neurol Sci. 2012 Apr;33(2):251-9. doi: 10.1007/s10072-011-0666-5. Epub 2011 Jul 1.