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ISTANBUL, TURKIYE - FEBRUARY 11: A scientist who works on cancer studies has become the first Turkish national to receive the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator Award. Elif Nur Firat-Karalar, an associate professor at Istanbul-based Koc University’s Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, focuses on the biology of centrosomes, cilia and microtubules. Karalar spoke to Anadolu Agency as this Friday marks International Day of Women and Girls in Science. According to the UN, the occasion has been celebrated since 2015 “to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls, and further achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.� The award-winning scientist received her undergraduate degree at Ankara-based Bilkent University with a focus on biomedical research and later completed her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, where she focused on the characterization of actin polymerization pathways in cells. During her post-doctoral studies at Stanford University, she “took a multidisciplinary approach to identify the centriole proteome and address the interactions among centrosome proteins,� according to her laboratory's website. Karalar said she came back to her home country in 2014 after working in the US and founded Koc University’s Cytoskeleton Research Laboratory. Shedding light on cancer treatment with her work, Karalar became the first Turkish scientist to be selected for the Young Investigator Programme, where EMBO has recruited scientists under the age of 40 since 2000. - 'This award is the symbol of science and excellence' Noting that they carry out basic science-oriented projects in the laboratory, Karalar said: “Our goal is to conduct research on how cells work, how they divide and how they respond to incoming signals.�(Footage by Kubra Kara/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)