Profile
I am an interdisciplinary scholar interested in tackling the problems that arise between humans and carnivore species (particularly grey wolves, bears and leopards) to change the course of future extinctions.
Although, I am a conservation ecologist by training and internationally known in my domain of expertise, I am not tight with any single methodology or discipline. My scholarly interests cut across the disciplines of ecology, psychology, anthropology and cognitive neuroscience.
My current research focuses on the ecology of clouded leopards and leopards in the Himalayas, human-wolf interactions in Central Asian societies, and on fostering transdisciplinary mindset in human-carnivore conflict management and carnivore conservation.
Prior to working at Ankara University as a PI, I was at Oxford University, UK as a research fellow. Earlier, I was a research and conservation coordinator for Birdlife Turkey, wildlife officer for WWF Turkey and a research fellow at CIHEAM, France / MAICh, Greece.
I undertook research with United States Geological Survey Minnesota Wolf Project, World Wildlife Fund (US, Netherlands and Georgia offices), United Nations Development Programme, Council of Europe and World Animal Protection.
Over the last 20 years, to make a positive change for humans and carnivores, I have worked with researchers, local communities and decision makers in Georgia, Nepal, Romania, Turkey, United Kingdom and USA; contributed to research in Canada, Philippines and Togo.
I have published in carnivore ecology and conservation, conflict management, wildlife trade, innovative problem solving and in cognitive neuroscience. My work has been featured by media in Canada, France, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Turkey, China, United Kingdom and USA.
I am a former board member of the Society for Conservation Biology Europe Section; former councillor of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, US; former co-chair of the IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group South Asia Brown Bear Expert Team.
Currently, I am a member of the IUCN SSC Wolf, Bear, Canid, Hyaena, Deer Specialist Groups; a member of the IUCN SSC/WCPA Protected Areas and Biodiversity Task Force, and IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force.
Going into poorly explored areas fascinates me, but for me, the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes as Marcel Proust said.