FoQuS Team

Dr. Burçe Ataç Moğol

Dr. Tolgahan Kocadağlı

Dr. Ecem Evrim Çelik

Dr. Ezgi Doğan Cömert

Dr. Cemile Yılmaz

Dr. Neslihan Göncüoğlu Taş

Dr. B. Aytül Hamzalıoğlu

Ecem Berk

Naz Erdem

Dr. Burçe Ataç Moğol

Dr. Burçe Ataç Moğol graduated from the Hacettepe University with Bachelors, Master of Engineering and finally PhD (2014) degree in Food Engineering. She has been a member of Food Quality and Safety Research Group supervised under Prof. Dr. Vural Gökmen. Her research concerns on different topics including Maillard reaction, thermal process contaminants, reaction kinetics, antioxidants, adsorption, and computer vision based image analysis. Her PhD thesis was on monitoring and developing mitigation strategies of thermal process contaminants, which include acrylamide, HMF, 3-MCPD and furan. She also works on computer vision based image analysis and she monitored acrylamide and HMF in foods during during processing.

Dr. Tolgahan Kocadağlı

I graduated from the Department of Food Engineering at Hacettepe University in 2008 and continued my MSc and PhD studies in the same department as a member of FoQuS (Food Quality and Safety Research Group). My MSc thesis was about mitigating acrylamide formation in bakery products. In my PhD, I investigated the formation of α-dicarbonyl compounds under high temperature processing conditions. I worked as a Research Assistant at Hacettepe University from 2010 to 2017. Then, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Reading. My postdoc study was about flavour chemistry with a focus on thermal flavour generation. I have been working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Engineering at Hacettepe University since March 2019. My research interest is about investigating low molecular weight food components mainly concerning their chemical reactions and interactions with a focus on food processing and formulation. I received UK Royal Society Food Group Junior Medal 2017, which was based on my contribution to food chemistry, particularly about my research and publications on the Maillard reaction, aroma and acrylamide generation. In 2020, I received the Hacettepe University Encouragement Award in Science and Engineering, which was also based on my contribution to food chemistry.

Dr. Ecem Evrim Çelik

Ecem Evrim Celik graduated with a Food Engineering degree in 2011 from Hacettepe University and received her MsC degree from the same university in 2013. She completed her doctorate programs in University of Copenhagen, Department of Food Science, Spectroscopy and Chemometrics Section and Hacettepe University, Department of Food Engineering in 2018. Since 2011 she has been continuing her research at the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Vural Gökmen and working as a research assistant in Department of Food Engineering, Hacettepe University. Her research interest is to investigate the reactions of antioxidant-prooxidant constituents in foods. She is specifically working on the behaviour and characterization of dietary fiber-bound antioxidants naturally occurring in foods and formed after processing, like melanoidins. She is applying multi-way techniques in her research by using chemometric tools.

Dr. Ezgi Doğan Cömert

Ezgi Doğan Cömert is a research assistant in the Department of Food Engineering at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. She graduated in 2013 with food engineering degree, and gained his MSc degree in 2015. She is now doing her PhD in FOQUS Research Group. She is currently editorial board member in Food Research International. Her research areas are dietary antioxidants, dietary fibers, phenolic compounds, in vitro digestion, protein glycation.

Dr. Cemile Yılmaz

Cemile Yılmaz graduated from the Food Engineering Department of Ankara University in 2010. She gained her MSc degree from Hacettepe University in 2013. She has completed her PhD thesis entitled as ‘Investigation of Changes in Amino Acids during Different Fermentation Conditions” in 2018. She has been working as a research assistant at Food Engineering Department of Hacettepe University since 2011. Her research interest areas are food fermentations and neuroactive/bioactive compounds in foods.

Dr. Neslihan Göncüoğlu Taş

Dr. Neslihan Göncüoğlu Taş graduated from Food Engineering Department of Hacettepe University in 2009. Since 2009, she has been carried out her studies at the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Vural Gökmen at Hacettepe University. She obtained her MSc from the same university in 2011. She has completed her PhD thesis entitled as ‘Investigation of Chemical Reactions in Hazelnut Induced by Roasting’ in 2017. She has been working as a Research Assistant at Food Engineering Department of Hacettepe University since 2010. Her research interests are chemistry of Maillard reaction and caramelization, process induced toxicants, and chemical kinetics.

Dr. B. Aytül Hamzalıoğlu

Dr. Aytül Hamzalıoğlu is working as a research assistant in Department of Food Engineering, Hacettepe University, Turkey. She has graduated from Food Engineering in 2009 and received her MSc in 2011. She has completed her PhD thesis entitled “Investigation of the reactivities of monomeric and polymeric components in some foods in digestion conditions in vitro” in 2017. She is currently in Editorial Board Member in Elsevier Journal, Food Research International. Her research areas are thermal processing, Maillard reaction, sugar decomposition, thermal process contaminants and in vitro digestion.

Ecem Berk

Ecem Berk is a research assistant in the Department of Food Engineering at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. She graduated in 2016 with food engineering degree, and gained his MSc degree in 2019. She is now doing her PhD in FOQUS Research Group. Her research areas are Maillard reaction, caramelization and thermal process contaminants.

Naz Erdem

Naz Erdem is a research assistant in the Department of Food Engineering at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. She graduated from the Food Engineering Department at Ankara University in 2016 and gained her MBA degree from the Department of Business Administration at Hacettepe University in 2019. She is now doing her M.Sc. in FOQUS Research Group. Her research interests are sweetness perception, mathematical modeling of sweetness intensity, its relationship with food physics, and flavor.

FoQuS Students

  • Şenel Ecem Berk (PhD Student)
  • Süleyman Yıltırak (PhD Student)
  • Naz Erdem (MSc Student)
  • Kübra Köşker (MSc Student)
  • Merve Aksoy (MSc Student)

Former Members & Visitors

  • Dr. H. Gül Akıllıoğlu (University of Copenhagen)
  • Dr. Arda Serpen (RnD Manager, Döhler)
  • Dr. Özge Ç. Açar (National Food Reference Laboratory, Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock)
  • Dr. Arzu Altunkaya (Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock)
  • Dr. Süreyya Özcan (METU)
  • Dr. Işıl Gürsul Aktağ (Munzur Üniversitesi)
  • MSc. Selahattin Gazi
  • MSc.Merve Canlı
  • MSc. Aslı Yıldırım
  • MSc. Ahsen Yüksel
  • MSc. Özge Dönmez (RnD Engineer, Döhler)
  • MSc. Yeşim Karademir (PhD Student, METU)
  • MSc. Ebru Deniz (PhD Student, University of Ankara)
  • MSc. Ebru Keleşoğlu (Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock)
  • MSc. Güliz Balık (Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock)
  • Dr. Kübra Sultan Özdemir (Konya Food and Agriculture University)
  • Dr. Sladjana Zilic (Maize Research Institute, Belgrade)
  • Dr. Gökhan Durmaz (İnonü University)
  • Pelin Esma Emirbayer (Universität Erlangen)
  • Loredana Abbate (University of Naples “Federico II”)
  • Giuliana Di Costanza (University of Naples “Federico II”)
  • Monica Polio (University of Naples “Federico II”)
  • Roberta B Lumaga (University of Naples “Federico II”)
  • Dr. Edoardo Capuano (University of Naples “Federico II”)
  • Dr. Teresa Oliviero (University of Naples “Federico II”)
  • Dr. Kristina Kukurova (Slovakian Food Research Institute)