Lab Members

Syed Hamid, PhD, is exploring the role of lipid-induced unfolded protein response (UPR) in immune cells. His research focus has been on the signaling cascades that are initiated by UPR under hyperlipidemic conditions and the role it play in defining the behavior of immune cells. Hamid is specifically interested in the role of micro RNA and growth signaling under conditions of UPR activation. He also studies the role of diet and fasting/feeding in the epigenetic regulation of metabolism.

Jose Carlos “Zeca” de Lima, Jr., PhD, received his doctorate in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, where his thesis research focused on interleukin-10, brown adipose tissue and mitochondrial energetics. Following a postdoctoral training in biochemistry at the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, de Lima joined the Erbay Laboratory in June 2020 to investigate the role of lipid-induced endoplasmic stress response in atherosclerosis development and mitochondrial homeostasis.

Zehra Yildirim focuses on unfolded protein response targets and their role in macrophage cholesterol homeostasis and atherosclerosis. Her research interest is in how the lipid-induced phosphorylation of RNA-binding proteins alters cholesterol efflux.

Asli Dilber Yildirim earned her bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and genetics from Istanbul Kultur University in 2011 and her master’s degree in cancer genomics and developmental biology from Utrecht University, Netherlands. During her master’s degree education, Yildirim studied the recruitment and specific locations of PLK1 in mammalian cancer cell lines under supervision of René Medema, PhD, and the transcriptional regulation and histone chaperones in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under supervision of H.T. Marc Timmers, PhD. Since 2015, Asli Yildirim has been a PhD candidate in molecular biology and genetics at Bilkent University. Currently, she is a visiting graduate scholar at Cedars-Sinai in the Erbay Lab. Yildirim studies the intercommunication in between emergency room stress and mitochondria in metabolic diseases, such as atherosclerosis and diabetes.

Asli Dogan received her bachelor of science from Bilkent University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. During her undergraduate studies, she gained experience in Necker Hospital Inserm Research Lab in Paris and focused on steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome. Dogan earned her master’s degree from Maastricht University, Netherlands, and worked on hippocampal plasticity, neurogenesis and cell survival in rats. She then joined the Erbay Lab as a PhD student in 2016 and is particularly interested in mitochondrial biogenesis and energetics.