Prof. ZÜHTÜ TANIL KOCAGÖZ

Tanil Kocagoz, M.D., Ph.D. studied in junior high school, Izmir Saint Joseph where he learned speaking French and in senior high school, Istanbul American Robert College where the curriculum was held in English. He received “Michael Hamilton Best Science Student Award” at graduation. Prof. Kocagöz graduated from Hacettepe University, School of Medicine, Ankara, in 1985. He worked as a director of a health center in Izmit for two and a half years as his conscription where he received a “Letter of Appreciation” from the Governer of Kocaeli for his important contributions to public health. Between 1988 and 1993 he completed Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases residency program at Medical Microbiology Department of Hacettepe University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey, where he later became associate professor. Between 1992 and 1994 he worked as a researcher at University of California San Francisco, Microbial Pathogenesis Unit where he took part in cloning and sequencing of penicillin binding protein 2 (PBP2) of Staphylococcus aureus and identified mutations leading to fluoroquinolone resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. After his return to Turkey he completed the Ph.D. program in biochemistry at the Medical Biochemistry Department of Hacettepe University. Development of new antimicrobials and rapid diagnostic tools for infectious diseases became his main areas of research. He moved to Istanbul in 2000 and dedicated himself to turn his inventions into products that will improve human health. For this purpose he took part in the foundation of R&D companies and concentrated his efforts for building a bridge between universities and industry in biotechnology. In 2004, he received the degree of Professor at Yeditepe University where he worked as the head of the Department of Medical Microbiology for four years. Since 2008 he is working in Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Istanbul, Turkey. He is head of the departments of Medical Microbiology and Medical Biotechnology. He developed several original patented products in the area of diagnostic microbiology. “Bacit A” which lowers the time required for the diagnosis of Group A Beta Hemolytic Streptococci from two to one day, “Quicolor”, a medium that enables antibiotic susceptibility testing in 4 to 6 hours instead of 24 hours,  “Observable Real Time Electrophoresis –ORTE-”, “Decomics”, a decontamination and concentration method that eliminates the need for centrifugation and “TK Culture System”, rapid culture system for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, “MyMagiCon” for concentration of microorganisms and macromolecules in biological fluids, can be counted among these. In 2010, ORTE (Observable Real Time Electrophoresis) received the award of “Akin Cakmakci” presented by Turkish Technology Development Fund (TTGV). TK is a rapid culture system for the diagnosis of tuberculosis, which was supported by Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), received “Eurowards Turkey” entrepreneurship award. Prof. Kocagöz has more than sixty scientific papers published in international journals and several poster awards. In 2011, Istanbul Physicians Association, “Medical Service Award” for his important contributions to the diagnostic methods of tuberculosis that can be used in resource-limited settings. In January 2022 he received Speacial Pandemia Fight Award Second Prize in Diagnostics from Turkish Academy of Sciences.