E-mail: cihan [dot] aydin [at] gmail [dot] com
Education
2007-2012 University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Advisor: Celia A. Schiffer)
Dissertation Title: “Hepatitis C Virus Non-Structural Protein 3/4A – A Tale of Two Domains”
2002-2007 Bogazici University, Istanbul, TURKEY B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Genetics, with Honors (GPA: 3.3) B.Sc. in Chemistry, with Honors (GPA: 3.3)
Academic Honors and Awards
2002-2007 The Scientific and Technological Research Council Of Turkey (TUBITAK) Fellowship for Medal Awardees in National Science Olympiads
Research Experience
2012-2013 Post-Doctoral Research – University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA (Principal Investigator: Celia A. Schiffer)
Cloning, expression and purification of single-chain (sc) NS3/2B protease-helicase complex and scNS3/2B protease from Dengue Virus (DV)
Development and optimization of high-throughput assays for DV NS3/2B protease cleavage
2007-2012 Doctoral Research – University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
Investigation of in silico dynamic interactions between the protease and the helicase domains of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) NS3/4A protein using molecular dynamics simulation suite AMBER
Cloning, expression and purification of single-chain (sc) NS3/4A protease-helicase complex, scNS3/4A protease and NS3 helicase from HCV, including their mutant variants
Development and optimization of high-throughput assays for HCV NS3/4A (cleavage and enzymatic inhibition assays for protease and DNA-RNA unwinding, DNA-RNA binding and ATP hydrolysis assays for helicase function)
Investigation of the domain-domain interface in HCV NS3/4A for function in interdomain dependence• Investigation of the chemical structural features of the inhibitors of HCV NS3/4A protease in potency, susceptibility to drug resistance and modulation of activity by the helicase domain
2006-2007 Undergraduate Research – Bogazici University, Istanbul, TURKEY
Investigation of thermal stability, GTP hydrolysis rate and GDP-GTP exchange efficiency of the elongation factor TU (Ef-TU) from the extreme thermophile Geobacillus anatolicus in comparison to Ef-TU from Escherichia coli (Advisor: Nese Bilgin)
2005-2006 Undergraduate Research – Bogazici University, Istanbul, TURKEY
Mapping alleles for recessive inherited genetic disorders in Eastern Turkish families with a high frequency of consanguineous marriages (Advisor: Asli Tolun)
Publications
Romano, K. P., Ali, A., Aydin, C., Soumana, D., Ozen, A., Deveau, L. M., Silver, C., Cao, H., Newton, A., Petropoulos, C. J., Huang, W., and Schiffer, C. A. (2012) The molecular basis of drug resistance against hepatitis C virus NS3/4A protease inhibitors, PLoS Pathog 8, e1002832. (Third Author)
Ali, A., Aydin, C., Gildemeister, R., Romano, K. P., Cao, H., Ozen, A., Soumana, D., Newton, A., Petropoulos, C. J., Huang, W., and Schiffer, C. A. (2013) Evaluating the Role of Macrocycles in the Susceptibility of Hepatitis C Virus NS3/4A Protease Inhibitors to Drug Resistance, ACS Chem Biol. (Co-first Author)
Aydin et al. “The Interdomain Interface in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Bifunctional Enzyme Non-Structural Protein 3/4A (NS3/4A) Regulates Protease and Helicase Activities” (First Author)
Presentations
Aydin, C., Ali, A., Schiffer, C. A. “Full Length HCV NS3/4A Recognizes Protease Inhibitors Better Compared to the Isolated Protease for Wildtype and Multi Drug Resistant Variants.” International Workshop on HIV and HCV Drug Resistance and Curative Strategies. Sitges, Spain, 2012. (Oral/Poster Presentation)
Aydin, C., Schiffer, C. A. “Evaluating the Potential Interplay between the Protease and the Helicase Domains of Hepatitis C Virus Non-Structural Protein 3/4A” Gordon Research Conferences: Proteins. Holderness, NH, USA, 2011 (Poster Presentation)