Dr. Berna Sozen

Biography

Berna Sozen is a developmental biologist whose research focuses on early mammalian embryogenesis and stem cell-based models of human development. Berna earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from Akdeniz University in Turkey in 2009. She obtained an MSc in Reproductive Biology in 2013 and a PhD in Developmental Biology in 2018, both from Akdeniz University School of Medicine. During her MSc, she worked with Prof. Tom P. Fleming at the University of Southampton, UK, and during her PhD, she worked with Prof. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz at the University of Cambridge, UK from 2015-2018. Following her doctoral studies, she undertook post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge (2018-2019) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (2019-2020) under Prof. Zernicka-Goetz. In 2020, Berna joined the Yale faculty as an Assistant Professor to establish an independent research group in the Department of Genetics. Her pioneering work has advanced the understanding of lineage specification, tissue morphogenesis, and the self-organization of embryonic structures. Her lab integrates cutting-edge stem cell technologies, multi-omics profiling, and imaging to uncover mechanisms guiding early human development. Berna's contributions provide critical insights into human embryo biology and help establish stem cell-derived embryo models as powerful systems in developmental and biomedical research.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards