On April 8, 2023, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal visited the ESOGÜ Cellular Therapy and Stem Cell Production, Application, and Research Center, ESTEM, and the Department of Stem Cell, accompanied by ESOGÜ Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Ramazan Erdağ, Center Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayla Eker Sarıboyacı, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eray Atalay, and ESTEM Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and Tissue Engineering Research Unit Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Avcı as host, along with Corporate Communications Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Y. Murat Bulut. During the visit, he toured multidisciplinary research units established within the center, covering the fields of medicine, dentistry, engineering, pharmacy, and natural sciences. These projects integrate international collaborations and multiple disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy, engineering.
ESTEM Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayla Eker Sarıboyacı provided information on projects supported by TÜBİTAK 1001, 1002, 1004, and 1005 programs, STAR and BİÇABA scholarship programs, TUSEB, and ESOGÜ-BAP, focusing on the isolation of various cell types, particularly stem cells derived from human tissues, as well as gene therapy, cellular therapy, regenerative medicine, the use of disease models, and a phase clinical trial for an exosome-based stem cell therapy protocol for meniscus injuries. Furthermore, she provided detailed information on the projects focused on advanced tissue engineering techniques, including artificial organ bioprinting, microfabrication, microfluidics, organ-on-a-chip systems, biosensors, and biomaterials, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Avcı.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eray Atalay, a faculty member at the Department of Ophthalmology and Stem Cell and the coordinator of the ESTEM-BioStemCore research group, provided information on TÜBİTAK 3501 and 1001-supported projects, which focus on biomaterial, stem cell, and biological product combinations for the treatment of ocular surface chemical and thermal injuries. Undergraduate students from the same research group shared details about their TÜBİTAK 2209-A projects, which have recently been approved for funding in the new term, while other undergraduate scholars supported within the STAR and BİÇABA programs provided information about their ongoing work at ESTEM and potential research topics they plan to pursue within the center. Information has also been provided on microfluidic organ-on-a-chip systems and the development of next-generation hybrid wound dressings for the treatment of diabetic ulcers and burn wounds, as part of the ongoing research at the recently renewed ESTEM-MEMS.
With the approval of the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 by the United States Senate and its enactment by the end of December 2022, a groundbreaking milestone has been reached. This law allows for integrating alternative techniques, micro-physiological techniques, and other human physiology-related methods to reduce and eliminate animal use in the mandatory animal testing that has been in place since 1938. In this context, attention has been drawn to personalized liver-on-a-chip studies, particularly within the scope of organ-on-a-chip research, which gained significance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We would like to express our gratitude to the President of TÜBİTAK, Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, for his visit and encouragement. 
