Gamze Bildik Elcik, PhD

Dr. Gamze Bildik Elcik is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Istanbul University, Turkey. She became more interested in women’s health and earned her Master of Science degree in Reproductive Biology from Koc University, Turkey. Subsequently, she continued her doctoral training in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and received her Ph.D. from Koc University where she was trained in a translational research laboratory and focused on fertility preservation strategies against ovarian damage induced by chemotherapy and radiation in young female cancer survivors.

In 2019, Dr. Bildik Elcik joined Dr. Robert C. Bast’s laboratory at MD Anderson Cancer Center as a postdoctoral fellow to further expand her studies in the field of ovarian cancer. She was awarded TRIUMPH (Translational Research in Multi-Disciplinary Program) Postdoctoral Fellowship supported by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas which provides continued training in clinical and/or translational cancer research and builds a foundation to conduct translational research. With the support of the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, her ultimate goal is to understand autophagy-mediated drug resistance to seek more effective therapeutic interventions for women undergoing treatment for low-grade serous ovarian cancer, who are often underrepresented in basic and clinical research.