Zehra is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Scherzer Lab within the Department of Neurology, where she studies the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Her research focuses on disease progression, dementia risk, and integrating clinical phenotyping with genomic and transcriptomic data to better understand disease heterogeneity. She earned her MD from Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty and aspires to build a career as a physician–scientist in translational neuroscience. Through her work with the YPA Mentorship Committee, Zehra is passionate about creating spaces for continuous learning and shared growth and helping build structured mentorship frameworks that support postdocs both as mentees and as mentors.
Outside of research, Zehra enjoys long walks, hiking, and exploring and cooking different cuisines.