Before you start scrolling down and/or reading my blog posts from the homepage, just wanted to remind you that I write this blog (i) mostly to provide answers to frequently asked questions – I see it as an intellectual responsibility, (ii) as a diary to observe my evolution (or devolution) as I grow older, and (iii) to share my views on a variety of things – at the time of writing. Happy to read your comments but would be great if you didn’t take anything I write/share in this blog too seriously – as encouraging discussion rather than debate is my aim. Please also note: even my own stance on the subject matter may have changed (totally or partially) since writing the post.
If you are interested in finding out what I’m like in person: I’m an ordinary guy with a passion to help others – and that’s all there is to know about me. To this end, I share my expertise and experience as:
(i) a ‘Principal Scientist’ at Bicycle Therapeutics, and a former ‘Senior Scientist and Product Owner’ at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma,
(ii) a former academic, and University of Leicester (BSc and then as Postdoc), University of Cambridge (Sn. Postdoc) and University of Bristol (PhD) alumnus,
(iii) a British-Turk,
(iv) a Leicester City FC (season ticket holder and) fan,
(v) a husband and a father (of one son, Isaac, and one cat, Newton),
(vi) a child of Turkish immigrants living in the UK, and
(vii) someone who loves watching channels that specialise in science, maths, philosophy, football and history (e.g. Numberphile, TED-Ed, Football Book Club, BBC In Our Time series, History of Literature).
I’ve worked as/took part in all sorts of things (e.g. assistant teacher, take-away shops, freelance translator, school link worker) in my (relatively short) life (see my CV), met all sorts of people, read all sorts of books, learned great life lessons and therefore, made many observations, which I want to share in my blog if and when time permits.
To view my posts, please visit the home page; and for a short academic biography, visit My Research page. All views are mine unless stated otherwise. (NB: The photos in this blog cannot be used without permission. Everything else can be used with attribution – except for commercial reasons).
Thanks for visiting my blog!
As a side note, the below are the only accounts I (try to) maintain frequently. Feel free to contact me if I can be of any help (please do not send friendship requests on Facebook or Instagram – I rarely check them):
Profile pages: Google Scholar ResearchGate
Academia.edu (incl. CV) LinkedIn Twitter
My blog (https://t.co/mkpxURvBpV) has been added to @altmetric. So whether I write about your article or not will affect your paper’s Altmetric score 😅 It’s serious people: grants, REF funding all depends on it.
— Mesut Erzurumluoğlu (@mesuturkiye) November 28, 2017
Hometowns: Leicester (UK) & Boğazlıyan (Turkey)
Favourite teams: Leicester City FC (England) & Beşiktaş JK (Turkey)
Sayings which inspired me the most (not in order of importance)
- “However bad life may seem, while there is life, there is hope. Be brave, be curious, be determined, overcome the odds. It can be done.” (Stephen Hawking)
- “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” (Thomas Edison)
- “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” (Isaac Newton) – My hero in science.
- “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change.” (attributed to Charles Darwin)
- “Youth is wasted on the young.” (George Bernard Shaw)
- “There are as many paths to God as there are souls on Earth.“ (old Sufi saying, attributed to Prophet Muhammad)
- “A man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.” (Muhammad Ali)
- “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” (Rumi)
- “The road to wisdom? Well, it’s plain and simple to express: Err and err and err again, but less and less and less.” (Piet Hein)
- “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” (Friedrich Nietzsche)
- “Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” (attributed to Albert Einstein)
- “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (Jesus Christ)
Bana en çok tesir eden âyet/hadisler:
- “Kulları içinde ancak âlimler, Allah’ı gerektiği tarzda tazim ederler.” (Fâtır/35, 28) – Bu ayeti idrak ettikten sonra (kendi çapımca) ilim peşinde koşmaya ve alimlerle oturup/kalkmaya karar verdim. Hatta bu ayet-i kerimeyi doktora tezimin baş sayfasına (tezime şeref katsın diye) ekledim.
- “İnsan, emek ve gayretinin neticesinden başka şey elde edemez.” (Necm/53, 39)
- “Allah kuluna kafi değil midir?” (Zumer/39, 36)
- “Rabbim, benim için zindan, bunların beni davet ettiği şeyden daha hayırlıdır.” (Yusuf/12, 33)
- “Sübhansın ya Rab! Senin bize bildirdiğinden başka ne bilebiliriz ki? Her şeyi hakkıyla bilen, her şeyi hikmetle yapan Sensin.“ (Bakara/2, 32) – Meleklerin Allah’a bu cevabı çok hoşuma gider…
- “O, insanı bir damladan yarattı. Fakat bir de bakarsın ki Rabbine apaçık bir hasım oluvermiş!” (Nahl/16, 4)
- “Allah size, emanetleri/işi ehline vermenizi ve insanlar arasında hükmettiğinizde adaletle hüküm vermenizi emreder.” (Nisa/4, 58) – Bugünlerde “müslüman/dindar” geçinen ülkelerin en büyük iki sorunu.
- “Allah kendisine şirk koşulmasını affetmez; ama dilediği kimse hakkında bunun altındaki diğer günahları affeder.” (Nisa/4, 116)
- “Kıyamet günü, âlimlerin mürekkebi şehitlerin kanından ağır gelir” (Hadis)
Diary of notable events (1988-Present)
2025 (age 36-37)
- Joined Bicycle Therapeutics (in Cambridge, UK) as ‘Principal Scientist’ (Blog)
- Was awarded a Silver Award for ‘Impact & Dedication to Mission’ (with bonus payment)
- Won Granta Park Football Tournament and ‘Golden Boot’ with Bicycle Therapeutics (Blog)
- Travelled to Boston to attend the Bio IT World Conference & Expo
- Flew ‘Premium’ class for first time 😀
- Paid off my Student Finance England Loan
- Bought a Toyota RAV4 (2022) hybrid car
- Won ‘Golden Boot’ in (7-a-side) Leicester Sunday Football League
- Travelled to Paris (with family) for the first time
- First white hair
- Publications received >7,050 citations (>3,500 excl. Consortia authorships) on Google Scholar (h-index: 24 | CV)
2024 (age 35-36)
- Main PhD Supervisor, Dr Santiago Rodriguez, passes away at the age of 53
- Travelled to Malaysia (KL & Langkawi), Singapore, and Thailand (Bangkok) with family for the first time
- Publications received >6,150 citations (>3,000 excl. Consortia authorships) on Google Scholar (h-index: 21 | CV)
- Passed Deutsch A1 test with ‘Sehr Gut’
- Published 1st paper with ‘Boehringer’ affiliation in Hepatology Communications
- Watched Augsburg v Bayern Munich at the WWK Arena
- Resigned from Boehringer Ingelheim (from permanent position) in October and joined a (Cambridge-based) Biotech in ‘Stealth-mode’ as (Lead) Computational Biologist
- Signed for Bicycle Therapeutics in December (to start in 2025)
- Moved (back) to Leicester (UK)
- Became an uncle
2023 (age 34-35)
- Voted in the Turkish Presidential (both rounds) & Parliamentary Elections (Stuttgart)
- Did Skiing for the first time – at Ehrwalder Almbahn (Austria)
- Publications received >5,000 citations on Google Scholar (h-index: 19 | CV)
- Travelled to Italy (Lake Como & Milano) with family for the first time
- Became Product Owner (PO) of Boehringer Ingelheim Digital Innovation Unit (DIU)’s Biobank activities
- Awarded ‘Top Performer’ in my team as Senior Scientist and PO at Boehringer Ingelheim (with Salary increase)
2022 (age 33-34)
- Publications received >4,000 citations on Google Scholar (h-index: 18)
- Awarded ‘Top Performer’ in my team as Senior Scientist at Boehringer Ingelheim (with Salary increase)
- Gave an interview on career and life journey to Bianet
- Attended the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) Conference in LA
- Bought my first E-bike (Cube Hybrid)
- Watched Zurich v Arsenal at the AFG Arena
- Took part in the Times Higher Education Global Academic Reputation Survey (by invitation)
2021 (age 32-33)
- Joined Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma’s Human Genetics team (in Biberach, Germany) as a ‘Senior Scientist’ (Blog)
- Moved to Biberach an der Riß, Germany (to a flat provided by Boehringer Ingelheim)
- Publications received >3,000 citations on Google Scholar (h-index: 17)
- Became a Leicester City FC season ticket holder
- Attended the 2021 European Rugby Champions Cup Final (Twickenham Stadium)
- Received two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and a booster shot of Moderna mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines
- Bought a Volvo S60 (2011)
- Invited to speak at the Respiration 2021 conference
- Bought first car in Germany: Nissan Note 1.2 DIG-S Acenta CVT (2016)
2020 (age: 31-32)
- Winner of the ‘The Future Leader Award’ by the University of Leicester Alumni Association
- Publication received >2,000 citations on Google Scholar (h-index: 16)
- ‘Excess deaths in Istanbul‘ study that I co-led was picked up by many media outlets (incl. BBC World and FT) and the British Embassy in Turkey (Blog)
- Became a ‘Data champion‘ for the University of Cambridge
- Became a ‘Equality & Diversity champion’ for the MRC Epidemiology Unit
- COVID-19 outbreak causes mass disruption – working from home from mid-March onwards
- Tweet about my former secondary school teacher goes viral on ‘Turkish Social Media’
- Moved house within Leicester
- Owned a cat for the first time (“Newton” – British Shorthair/Longhair mix)
- Co-started (SMA type-1 patient) Metehan Fidan’s crowdfunding campaign for £1.9 million
- Co-founded data muse
- Co-started ‘Az İş Çok Laf‘ podcast
- Bought cryptocurrency for the first time
2019 (age: 30-31)
- Started as Sn. Research Associate (Point 49) at the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge (supervisor: Prof. Claudia Langenberg)
- Our genetic association study of smoking behaviour-related traits was published in Molecular Psychiatry – for which I was the lead analyst (Blog)
- Our genetic association study of lung function-related traits was published in Nature Genetics – for which I was one of the three lead analysts (also my 20th peer-reviewed publication)
- Publication received >1,000 citations on Google Scholar (h-index: 10)
- Voted in the UK local elections (Leicester)
- Voted in the UK European Parliament elections (Leicester)
- Bought a (very little) piece of land in Cambridgeshire
- Voted in the UK general election (Leicester)
- Our LD Hub paper is joint-first in the ‘Highly Cited Articles‘ list published by the journal Bioinformatics – as of 2019, cited >350 times since publication in 2017
2018 (age: 29-30)
- Publication received >450 citations on Google Scholar (h-index: 7)
- Bought shares from a private limited company (JustPark) – my first business investment
- Published my fifth paper as first author (eleventh in total) in Genes
- Voted in the Turkish general election (in London)
- Became a father – wife and I named our son Isaac Ali
- Bought a Toyota RAV4 (2016) hybrid car
- Published my first ‘Rapid response’ in The BMJ
2017 (age: 28-29)
- Published my first (International Consortium of Blood Pressure) ‘consortium authorship’ paper in Nature Genetics
- Our ‘LD Hub’ paper was published in Bioinformatics – cited >80 times in its first year
- Published my first ‘high-impact’ paper as a prominent author in Nature Genetics (Blog)
- My entry “Breathtaking genes” was displayed at the Images of Research exhibition organised by the University of Leicester (Blog)
- Published a ‘Correspondence‘ in Nature against the Turkish government’s treatment of academics (Blog)
- Voted in the Turkish constitutional referendum (in London)
- Voted in the UK general election (in Leicester South constituency)
- Publication received >100 citations in Google Scholar (h-index: 5)
- Published tenth academic paper in Scientific Reports
- Bought my first flat (in Leicester)
- Co-founded Freedom for Academia and published our annual report – which gained a lot of attention in Turkey and Europe (incl. Chemistry World) (Blog)
- Gave a poster presentation and a lightning talk at the Target Validation (2017) conference in Cambridge (UK)
- Toured (all over) California, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas with my wife
2016 (age: 27-28)
- Awarded PhD in Genetic Epidemiology by University of Bristol
- Became President of the University of Leicester Turkish Society (until 2017)
- First academic conference as ‘keynote speaker’ – International Scientific Conference of Young Researchers (2016) in Baku, Azerbaijan (Leicester City FC became champions during my stay here)
- Voted in the United Kingdom EU membership referendum (in Leicester)
- Became a British citizen & obtained UK passport
- Got engaged in Ankara (Turkey)
- Watched Leicester City FC beat Porto FC in their first ever Champions League home game
- Published my first academic paper as ‘middle-author’ in Bioinformatics
- Watched my first Bundesliga game: Borussia Monchengladbach v Mainz
- Got married in Leicester (UK)
2015 (age: 26-27)
- Published my first academic paper as ‘corresponding author’ in PLoS One
- Published my first academic ‘review paper’ in BioMed Research International
- Traveled to New York for The Genome Access Course at the Cold Spring Harbor Labs
- Watched my first NBA game: Nets v Knicks
- Bought a BMW 320d (2004)
- Won the University of Bristol Staff Football League Cup
- Submitted PhD thesis ‘Population and family based studies of Consanguinity: Genetic and Computational approaches‘ and passed PhD viva (University of Bristol)
- Passed PhD viva with minor corrections
- Awarded MRC grant for the Structural Bioinformatics course at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, UK
- Moved to Leicester, UK
- Started Postdoctoral Research Associate (Grade 7) post at the University of Leicester (supervisors: Prof. Martin Tobin & Dr. Louise Wain)
- Voted in the 7th June and 1st November Turkish general elections (in London)
2014 (age: 25-26)
- Published my first academic paper in Human Mutation
- First citation by Kurkowiak et al, 2014
- First preprint posted to BioRxiv
- First academic supervision experience with two undergraduate interns
- First academic teaching experience – Introduction to Genetics and Genomics shortcourse
- First academic conference submission – American Society of Human Genetics (2014) in San Diego, California
- Voted in the Turkish presidential election (in London)
2013 (age: 24-25)
- Awarded EU Mobility Grant (€500 + Course fees) for Translational Bioinformatics workshop in Barcelona
- First peer-reviewing experience for Clinical Laboratory journal
2012 (age: 23-24)
- Awarded a full scholarship (~£21k per annum for 4 years) by the MRC for a PhD at the University of Bristol
- Moved to Bristol (UK)
- Started PhD in Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Bristol (supervisors: Dr. Santiago Rodriguez, Dr. Tom Gaunt & Prof. Ian Day)
- Helped found the University of Bristol Turkish Society and served as President (2012-14) and IT manager (2014-15)
- Became a volunteer member of the Dialogue Society – Bristol branch (until 2016)
- Became a (voluntary) teacher at AXIS Supplementary School – Bristol (until 2013)
2011 (age: 22-23)
- Appeared in University of Leicester (UoL) prospectus (Biological Sciences section, until 2014)
- Watched Leicester City FC play Real Madrid at the King Power Stadium
- Same UoL prospectus photo displayed on a massive billboard outside David Wilson library
- Bought my second car – 1995 model Vauxhall Corsa – for £100
- Rented a house (privately) for the first time (Leicester)
- First lab-based research project (supervisor: Prof. Annette Cashmore)
- Obtained BSc in ‘Biological Sciences (Genetics)’ from the University of Leicester (Grade: 2.1)
2010 (age: 21-22)
- Joined Twitter
- Voted in the Turkish constitutional referendum (in Akçakale, Turkey)
2009 (age: 20-21)
- Obtained Full UK driving licence
- Bought my first car (for £400) – 1999 model Mitsubishi Carisma 1.8 GLX GDI
- Restarted my BSc course (from year 2) at University of Leicester
2008 (age: 19-20)
- Appeared in court (Birmingham) to make case for staying in the UK – given ‘Discretionary leave to remain’ (together with brother)
- Father returned to Turkey (permanently) to join family
- Traveled (with brother) to Ankara (Turkey) to see mother and two sisters after 4 years of separation
- Won Golden Boot in Division 4 of Leicester Sunday League playing for Anatolia FC
- Took a gap from BSc course to change fee status to ‘home fee’
2007 (age: 18-19)
- Started BSc course in ‘Biological Sciences (Genetics)’ at University of Leicester – as ‘overseas’ student
- Awarded ‘Eliahou Dangoor’ scholarship (£1000) by the University of Leicester
- Started working as a School Link Worker (~£700 per month) for the Anatolia Cultural and Educational Society (until 2008) funded by the Leicester City Council Trust – my first full-time job
- Helped set up Anatolia FC (Leicester Sunday League) and served as Club secretary, Web admin and Forward player
- Helped found University of Leicester Turkish Society and served as IT manager
2006 (age: 17-18)
- Started blogging on WordPress
- Obtained A Levels in Maths (A), Further Maths (B), Electronics (A) and Physics (B)
- Took a gap year due to financial reasons – could not afford ‘overseas fee’ for undergrad course
- Studied at Leicester Montessori School as an external student – Obtained A Level in Biology (B)
2005 (age: 16-17)
- Father returned to Leicester (UK)
- Became a volunteer member of the Dialogue Society – Leicester branch (until 2011)
2004 (age: 15-16)
- Obtained GCSEs in Maths (A), Double Science (BB), English Language (C) and 6 other subjects
- Studied A-levels at Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth I College (until 2006)
- Family returned to Turkey (except brother)
- Became a (voluntary) teacher at Horizon Weekend School, Leicester (until 2011)
- Awarded maintenance bursary by the Anatolia Cultural and Educational Society (until 2006)
- Won (5-a-side) Connexions Cup (at Goals Leicester) with friends from Crown Hills Community College
2003 (age: 14-15)
- Started blogging on Blogspot (moved to WordPress in 2006)
- Invited to and completed a ‘Mathematics Masterclass’ in Leicester
2002 (age: 13-14)
- Ran 100m in 12 seconds at Crown Hills Community College trials – awarded with Gold certificate
2001 (age: 12-13)
- Obtained SATs (Year 9) in Maths (Level 8, highest), Science (6a), English (5a)
- Joined Highfield Rangers FC (Leicester) U15 team
2000 (age: 11-12)
- Moved to Leicester (UK) with family – to join father
- Studied at Crown Hills Community College (until 2004)
1998 (age: 9-10)
- Father moved to Leicester (UK) for a PhD in Criminology
1997 (age: 8-9)
- Moved to Etimesgut, Ankara
- Studied at Istiklal Ilköğretim Okulu/Secondary school (until 2000)
1996 (age: 7-8)
- Joined Gençlerbirliği S.K. (Ankara) U9 team
1995 (age: 6-7)
- Moved to Demetevler, Ankara (Turkey)
- Studied at Atakent Ilköğretim Okulu/Primary school (until 1997)
1994 (age: 5-6)
- Sister (no 2, final sibling) born in Leicester (UK)
1993 (age: 4-5)
- Sister (no 1) born in Leicester
- Went to Spinney Hill Primary School, Leicester (until 1995)
1990 (age: 1-2)
- Moved to Leicester (UK) with family
1989 (age: 1)
- Moved to Coventry (UK) with parents
- (Only) Brother and first sibling born in Coventry
1988 (21 August)
- Born in Keçiören, Ankara, Turkey (as first child)
NB: The photos in this blog cannot be used without permission. Everything else can be used with attribution – except for commercial reasons
An ordinary blog by an ordinary bloke 
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