Dr. Özgecan Kayalar received his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from the Department of  Biology at Istanbul University and his minor from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the same university. His graduate studies were conducted to investigate the mechanisms of lung repair and regeneration in the C57BL6/j mouse model of hyperoxic lung injury. His PhD study is on to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms of fibrotic effects of peptides released from pulmonary neuroendocrine cells in epithelial and fibroblast cells. He, who conducted his graduate studies in the group of Prof. Dr. Fusun Oztay, has been a visiting researcher in the team of Prof. Dr. Melanie Koenigshoff at Comprehensive Pneumology Center (CPC)-Munich in Germany. He has been involved in lots of Tubitak projects. He has the statements in more than 10 national and international congress and authorship of a chapter in a Springer’s book in SCI index, as well as six articles published in SCI, one in SCI-expanded and two in field-indexed journals. Dr. Kayalar has more than 80 references. Additionally, he has been awarded for his statements in national and international conferences. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Experimental Research Group in Turkish Thoracic Society since April 2018. His ​​postdoctoral investigations, which has been conducted in the lab group of Prof. Dr. Hasan Bayram aim to investigate of cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases (such as IPF and COPD) and explore new target molecules and mechanisms that can be used for the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.

Selected Publications

  • Oztay, F, Tunali, S, Kayalar, O, Yanardag, R. The protective effect of vitamin U on valproic acid‐induced lung toxicity in rats via amelioration of oxidative stress. J Biochem Mol Toxicol. 2020;e22602. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbt.22602.
  • Kayalar, O., Oztay, F. & Ongen, H.G. Gastrin-releasing peptide induces fibrotic response in MRC5s and proliferation in A549s. Cell Commun Signal 18, 96 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-020-00585-y.
  • F Oztay, O Kayalar, M Yildirim (2019) Pulmonary Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Defence System in the Lung Ageing and Fibrotic and Diabetic Lungs. Oxidative Stress in Lung Diseases 1, 325-353.
  • N Besiktepe, O Kayalar, E Ersen, F Oztay (2017) The copper dependent-lysyl oxidases contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology 44, 247-255.
  • E Gogus, O Kayalar, HG Ongen, F Oztay (2017) Alterations at the Synthesis and Degradation of E-cadherin in the Human Lungs with Emphysema. European Journal of Biology 76 (2), 61-68.
  • F Oztay, O Sacan, O Kayalar, S Bolkent, Y Ipci, L Kabasakal, G Sener et al. (2015) Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) extract improved hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and surfactant-associated protein alterations in rat lungs. Pharmaceutical Biology 53 (11), 1639-1646.
  • O Yilmaz, F Oztay, O Kayalar (2015) Dasatinib attenuated bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice. Growth Factors 33 (5-6), 366-375.
  • O Kayalar, F Oztay (2014) Retinoic acid induced repair in the lung of adult hyperoxic mice, reducing transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) mediated abnormal alterations. Acta Histochemica 116 (5), 810-819.