Vice-Rectors

Prof. Dr. Atilla Özcan ÖZDEMİR

 Prof. Dr. Atilla Özcan Özdemir was born in Diyarbakır in 1974. He completed his middle and high school education at Eskişehir Anatolian High School, graduating in 1992. He completed his undergraduate medical education at Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, graduating in 1998. Dr. Özdemir began his residency training in the Department of Neurology at Eskişehir Osmangazi University in 1998 and became a neurology specialist in 2002. In the same year, he worked as an observer in the Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases at Toronto University Sunnybrook Hospital. Between 2003 and 2004, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine. Between 2004 and 2008, he completed a clinical fellowship in cerebrovascular diseases in Canada at the Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario. Within the same department, he also completed training in Neurological Intensive Care, Neuroangiography, and Neurosonology. Continuing his academic career in the Department of Neurology at Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Özdemir received the title of Associate Professor in 2010. In the same year, he worked on neuroangiographic interventions at Stuttgart University in Germany and earned the Interventional Neuroangiography Certificate from the Turkish Neurological Society.

 Dr. Özdemir has been serving as a professor since 2015. He is also certified as an Intensive Care Specialist by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye, and currently serves as the Head of the Division of Intensive Care within the Department of Neurology. Since 2021, he has been the Director of the Intensive Care Fellowship Training Program at Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine. He served as Chair of the Department of Neurology between 2019 and 2022.

Between 2016 and 2019, Dr. Özdemir served as Chair of the Interventional Neurology Working Group of the Turkish Neurological Society. From 2019 to 2022, he chaired the Cerebrovascular Diseases Working Group of the Turkish Neurological Society, and between 2020 and 2022, he served as President of the Turkish Cerebrovascular Diseases Society. In recognition of his work in the field of stroke, Dr. Özdemir was named Physician of the Year in Eskişehir in 2014. He is the Coordinator of the Stroke Centre at Eskişehir Osmangazi University and a member of the Stroke Commission of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye. He has also served on the Scientific Research Commission of Eskişehir Osmangazi University. In 2018, Dr. Özdemir was elected a Fellow of the European Stroke Organisation. He is a Board Member of the Middle East North Africa Asia Neuro-interventional Therapy (MENA-SINO) Society. In 2019, MENA-SINO named him Scientist of the Year in recognition of his contributions to education and training in neurointerventional therapies in Türkiye and other countries in the region. Since 2025, Dr. Özdemir has served as President of the MENA-SINO Society. Under Dr. Özdemir’s leadership, the Eskişehir Osmangazi University Stroke Centre team received the Gold Stroke Centre Award in 2019 as part of the Angels Initiative. He also serves as a member of the Endovascular Committee of the European Stroke Organisation. At the Eskişehir Osmangazi University Stroke Centre, a total of 40 neurologists from various cities in Türkiye and abroad have received training in acute stroke treatment, neurointerventional therapies, neurological intensive care, stroke unit management, and stroke centre management. Since 2020, Dr. Özdemir has been a member of the Stroke Working Group of the European Academy of Neurology. He is also a member of the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (SVIN), based in the United States. In 2022, he was named Scientist of the Year in recognition of his regional contributions to the MT2020 initiative, which aims to increase access to mechanical thrombectomy, an emergency treatment for acute ischemic stroke.  Dr. Özdemir has served as an associate editor for international journals and as an editor and associate editor for national journals. He has participated in numerous international congresses as an invited speaker and session chair in the fields of stroke and neurological intensive care. In 2022, he served as Dean of Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Özdemir has authored numerous articles published in SCI and SCI-Expanded indexed international journals, as well as national publications, and has contributed to and edited several books.

 He is married and has one child.

 

Prof. Dr. Şerife YÜCESOY ÖZKAN

 Prof. Dr. Şerife Yücesoy-Özkan was born in Eskişehir in 1977. She completed her primary education in Eskişehir, and graduated with honours from Bursa Vocational High School of Health in 1995, and worked as a midwife under the Ministry of Health for four years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1999, master’s degree in 2002, and Ph.D. in 2007 from the Program in Teaching Students with Intellectual Disabilities, Department of Special Education, Anadolu University, graduating with honours at all three levels. She received the title of Assistant Professor in 2007, became Associate Professor in 2014, and was promoted to Professor in 2020. In addition to her academic specialisation, she completed a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Anadolu University to strengthen her background in the social sciences, earning the title of sociologist.

 Prof. Dr. Yücesoy-Özkan began her academic career in 1999 in the Department of Special Education at Anadolu University. After serving as a research assistant and teaching assistant, she held the position of Vice Chair of the Department from 2007 to 2011. Between 2014 and 2018, she served as Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Disabled Students Unit at Anadolu University. From 2018 to 2019, she was as a visiting researcher at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina.

 In 2021, Prof. Dr. Yücesoy-Özkan joined the Department of Special Education at the Faculty of Education, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, where she has since served as Head of the Division of Education of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She served as Dean of the Faculty of Education at Eskişehir Osmangazi University from 2024 to 2026. With extensive experience in higher education administration and institutional development at various levels, she has held positions on numerous boards and committees, particularly in the areas of quality assurance, education and training, research, ethics, accessibility, and academic evaluation.

 Prof. Dr. Yücesoy-Özkan conducts research primarily in the fields of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities, as well as teacher education and improving the quality of services provided to individuals with special needs. She has supervised a significant number of doctoral dissertations, master’s theses, and non-thesis master’s projects. In addition to numerous articles published in national and international scientific journals, she has authored and contributed to a substantial number of books, book chapters, conference papers, and research reports. Prof. Dr. Yücesoy-Özkan, who holds editor and associate editor positions for international scientific journals, also serves as a reviewer for prestigious national and international scientific journals in her field. Prof. Dr. Yücesoy-Özkan also has extensive experience in scientific research and project management. She has served as principal investigator and researcher in projects funded under TÜBİTAK 1000, 1001, and 3501 programs, as well as in scientific research projects supported by public institutions, universities, and various organisations. She has carried out numerous initiatives aimed at translating scientific knowledge into practice, enhancing research capacity, and strengthening collaboration among universities, public institutions, and civil society organisations.

 In addition to her numerous articles published in national and international scientific journals, she has authored a substantial number of books, book chapters, conference papers, and various research reports. Serving as an editor and associate editor for international scientific journals, Prof. Dr. Yücesoy-Özkan also acts as a reviewer for prestigious national and international scientific journals in her field. She holds significant experience in scientific research and project management, having served as a principal investigator and researcher in projects supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) under the 1000, 1001, and 3501 programs, as well as scientific research projects funded by public institutions, universities, and various organisations. She has conducted numerous studies aimed at translating scientific knowledge into practice, enhancing research capacity, and strengthening university-public-civil society collaborations.

 Her scientific and academic work has received various national and international awards. In addition to three awards in project competitions—one second-place award and two honourable mentions—she has received numerous article performance awards, the 2020 Women in R&D and Innovation Summit Award, and the Eskişehir Osmangazi University Science Award in both 2021 and 2024. With her project titled “Tell me, good job! Bana aferin de!”, she became the first Turkish researcher to receive the 2021 “International Development Grant” awarded by the Society for the Advancement of Behaviour Analysis. A doctoral study conducted within the scope of a TÜBİTAK 1001 project under her leadership was also honoured with “The 2024 B. F. Skinner Foundation Research Award for Students in Europe”.

 Prof. Dr. Yücesoy-Özkan, who considers transforming academic work into societal impact one of her key priorities, collaborates with public institutions, local governments, and civil society organisations in the areas of education, research, policy development, and public awareness. Throughout more than three decades of experience in public service and higher education, she has assumed responsibilities in academic scholarship, graduate education, scientific research and project management, quality assurance, institutional governance, accessibility, and societal contribution. Prof. Dr. Şerife Yücesoy-Özkan draws on her extensive national and international academic and administrative experience to enhance the university’s education and research capacity, strengthen its institutional quality, and increase its contribution to society.

 She is married and has two children.

Prof. Dr. Mustafa ÖNDER

 Prof. Dr. Mustafa ÖNDER was born in Afyonkarahisar in 1972. He graduated from the Department of Mining Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Anadolu University, in 1994. He completed his master’s degree in 1996 and his Ph.D. in 2002 in the Department of Mining Engineering at the Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Eskişehir Osmangazi University. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor in 2003, Associate Professor in 2010, and Professor in 2015.

 Prof. Dr. Mustafa ÖNDER served as the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture between 2012 and 2017. He has been serving as the Head of the Mining Engineering Department since 2024.

 Prof. Dr. Mustafa ÖNDER, who has conducted and published numerous studies at both national and international levels, is married and has two children