Nur Banu Bayram
Nur Banu Bayram is a graduate of the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Istanbul University and is currently pursuing her MSc in the thesis-based Molecular Biotechnology and Genetics Program at the same university. Her research interests focus on ancient DNA, paleogenetics, molecular anthropology, archaeogenomics, and metagenomics.
Bayram has research experience in the Nif Mountain, Andık, and Konya-Karahöyük archaeological excavations. Her work primarily focuses on isolating DNA from archaeological human remains and conducting subsequent molecular and bioinformatic analyses. Within the Karahöyük project, she contributes to research involving whole-genome, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and metagenomic analyses.
Seher Elif Mekik
Seher Elif Mekik is a research assistant at the Institute of Nanotechnology and Biotechnology at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa. She holds a BSc and an MSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Istanbul University. Her research interests include ancient DNA, population genomics, and biomolecular archaeology, with experience in both computational and laboratory-based approaches. As part of the Konya-Karahöyük research team, she is involved in genetic analysis of human skeletal remains recovered from the site, aiming to advance our understanding of the genetic ancestry and population history of its past inhabitants.