Prof. Dr. Nedime Serakıncı was born in Nicosia in 1970. She completed her undergraduate biology degree in İstanbul University in 1992.
She received her Master’s degree at Division of Internal Medicine, Çapa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University in 1993 and continued onto Faculty of Medicine with a special student status. She completed her PhD at Department of Medical Biology and Genetics in Marmara University.
Through her research on telomere-telomerase biology, cancer and stem cell biology, she worked et Institute of Human Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark in 2001. With the funding she received for various projects, she established ‘Stem cell and Gene Therapy’ research within the Institute of Human Genetics at Aarhus University.
Besides medical genetics, Prof. Serakıncı also works on and interested in mesechymal stem cell biology, cancer and telomere/telomerase biology.
In 2003, she became an associate professor in the field of medical genetics and aging and stem cell genetics in 2007.
She received professorship in the fields of medical genetics and stem cell genetics in 2011.
Her research expertise is in telomerase-immortalized mesenchymal stem cells and their use in gene therapy and development of tissue models for drug discovery. Prof. Dr Serakıncı’s research program is focused on the molecular, cellular, and developmental biology of the adult mesenchymal stem cell. The principle aim of the program is to develop strategic and technical approaches necessary to acquire an understanding of the mechanisms underlying stem cell self-renewal and differentiation processes. Ultimately the objective is to provide rational scientific foundations for the application of cell and gene-based therapies to the treatment of human disease and injury.
She has established two class II laboratories and 4 fully equipped genetic diagnosis and genetic research laboratories. She also established and led the Stem cell and Gene therapy division.
Since 2011 she worked Near East University, established department of Medical Biology and Genetics within the Faculty of Medicine.
Then 2013 she has established and be the Chairperson of the Centre of Excellence in Near East University. Additionally, she was the founder of the Molecular Biology and Genetics Department within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 2014. Later on, 2015 Medical Biology and Genetics department separated as two individual department. Since then, she continued to be the chairperson of department of Medical genetics until October, 2020.
Same time in 2014 she has established Medical Biology and Genetics post graduate programs. Prof. Dr. Serakıncı has established Medical Genetics at Medical Faculty and Cancer Diagnosis and Research Center (Cytogenetic, Moleculear cytogenetics, Moleculear Genetics, Molekulear biology laboratories) at the Near East University Hospital between 2011-2020.
She has conducted many research projects and has more than 69 internationally acclaimed papers. She has also written 13 book chapters.
Furthermore, her papers on cancer stem cells and genetics has been ranked among the top 10 scientific publications in the world in 2004, 2006 ,2010 and ranked 5 in 2014.
February 2021 she has been ranked Turkey’s highest H index and most-cited first six thousand academician list at 1451 while the distinction of being the only scientist from TRNC in Medical Biology and Genetics field. According to the AD scientific index 2023, third time Dr Serakıncı ranked first in her field in her country and in the top 2 percent of the world, she has been serving as the Health Advisor to the President of the TRNC since January 2021.