People

İlkancan İpekçi

Lab Director

Güzin Turkay

Lab Manager

Güzin completed her B.A. in Chemical Engineering at Middle East Technical University in 2018 and worked as a full-time engineer for 3 years. Currently, she is expecting to graduate from Bahçeşehir University Psychology program in 2026. Her current project on this lab is a scale adaptation about attitudes towards bisexuality.

Hıdır Arslan

Hıdır completed his B.A. in Psychology at Bahcesehir University. He is currently pursuing his Master's degree in Social Sciences and Digital Data at Padova University. He worked on various projects with topics ranging from metacognition to normative modelling in neuroscience. His current project in this lab is "Emotional Regulation Strategies in Queer Populations". 

Sıla Yurtseven

Sıla Yurtseven graduated from Psychology (Eng.) at Istanbul Kent University as the top-scoring student. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Clinical, Social, and Intercultural Psychology at the University of Padova. Having interned at multiple mental health centers and research labs, social & political psychology and gender remain her research interests. She is finishing her training for the Existential School of Psychotherapy; she also does creative writing.

Sude Yaykıran

Fatma Sude Yaykiran graduated from Yeditepe University with a double major in Psychology B.A. and Psychological Counseling and Guidance B.A. in 2024. She is currently pursuing her MA in Sociology at Bielefeld University in Germany. Sude has interned in NGOs and  children's homes and has research interests in gender studies, intergroup relations and social psychology, dating relationships and middle eastern studies.

Özgür Gülen

Özgür is currently pursuing his master's in Cognitive Neuropsychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He has a background in neuropsychology, and neurodevelopmental disorders. In his research group, he investigates how emotion regulation strategies differ between LGBTI+ and non-LGBTI+ individuals.

Dide Yılmaz

Dide graduated from Psychology at Istanbul Commerce University. She plans to pursue a master's degree in clinical psychology. Her research interests focus on older adults, particularly on enhancing their psychological well-being and visibility in society. Currently, she is working in the lab on adapting a scale that measures binegativity.

Aylin Abbasi

Aylin earned her B.A. in Psychology from Bahçeşehir University in 2024, graduating with high honors as the top student in her cohort. She’s also interested in intergroup relations and prejudice, with a focus on how cognitive processes like attention and memory relate to our attitudes toward in-groups and out-groups.

Aysu Top

Aysu is fourth-year Psychology student at Bahçeşehir University with an interest in social psychology. She is a part of research group that focuses on exploring fan culture patterns and the formation of gender identity.

Ula Al-Bayati

Ula is currently an undergraduate sociology student at Bahcesehir University. Her interests lie in feminist theories, feminist sociology, post-colonial sociology and sub cultures.

Keiran 

After having recently completed her Bachelor’s in psychology from Bahçeşehir University, Keiran is now on the path to pursuing a Master’s in clinical psychology and neuroscience at the University of Pavia. She has a deep interest in linguistics, intersectionality, and the sociopolitical state of the global south.

Beril Yalçınkaya

Beril started a double major in Psychology and English Language Teaching at Yeditepe University in 2020. She is currently in her fourth year of the Psychology program and is expected to graduate this year. Her research interests center on how gender and sexuality shape cognition, mental health, and identity, grounded in a strong commitment to feminist research.

Mona

Mona is a master’s student in Clinical, Social, and Intercultural Psychology at the University of Padova. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Guidance & Counseling from MEF University. Her interests are on gender identity, sexual minorities, migration and political psychology. As a vegan activist, she has contributed to projects on animal rights and to NGOs supporting children's rights, LGBTIQ+ and gender equality.

Eylül Erkek

Eylül is an undergraduate student at Koç University. She is a comparative literature student with a background in trans and queer literature. They aim to explore linguistics, bodily autonomy and gender in language.

Yağmur Kaya

Yağmur has graduated from the Guidance & Psychological Counseling program of Bogazici University in 2023. They are currently training in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and interested in pursuing their master’s in Clinical Psychology. Their interests cover Holistic and Somatic Psychology, international media, music production, and literature. Their goal is to work with and through intersectional and interdisciplinary lenses.

Ece Gör

Ece graduated with high honors with a B.A. in Psychology from Bahçeşehir University. She is currently pursuing a double major in Sociology and is expected to graduate this year. In the upcoming academic year, she will begin her M.Sc. in Cognitive Neuroscience and Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Padova in Italy. She aims to contribute to interdisciplinary research in cognitive neuroscience.

Sidra is an undergraduate psychology student at Bahçeşehir University 3rd year. Her main interests involve lacanian and Jungian psychology. Psychoanalysis, gender theory, social psychology, political philosophy,  concept of self, psychological salience and creative arts are parts of her keen too as a neurodivergent poet.

Sudenaz Birol is a second-year undergraduate student of Psychology at Bahçeşehir University. She is especially curious about the intersections of psychology with culture and sociology. She is passionate about personal development and aesthetics, and takes a special interest in the psychological dimensions of modern urban life.