I was born in Istanbul, Turkey and went to the German high school there and did the German university entrance exam called Abitur. I did my bachelor’s at the Technical University of Munich in molecular biotechnology. I am currently doing my master’s at the University of Heidelberg also in molecular biotechnology. I got interested in Parkinson’s disease and especially LRRK2 mutations after the detection of this mutation in a close family member, which was how I got in contact with Prof. Alessi and Dr. Sammler. This eventually led to an internship offer, which I was overjoyed to accept.