BMSIS Visiting Scholar: Ali Ergül

My name is Ali, and I am an undergraduate student majoring in Molecular Biology &
Genetics with a minor in Chemistry at Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.

I’ve always been amazed by the nature, especially by the living things, since I was a kid. I am
currently interested in the origin of life, how chemistry turned into biology. Being a part of
Young Scientist Program and working on what I am interested in has grown my enthusiasm
towards the topic. Therefore, I decided to stay here at BMSIS as a Visiting Scholar.

I will be focusing on one of the major questions in science: The origin of biological
homochirality. Under the supervision of Dr. Celia Blanco, I will be investigating whether the
enantioselective permeability of chiral vesicle membranes could result in homochiral
biopolymers inside the membrane.

As homochirality is one the most unique properties of life, I believe that revealing the
underlying mystery of such problem could provide us a new perspective on life’s itself and its
origin on Earth or elsewhere.