We extend our sincere appreciation to Prof. Uğur Özbek for his congratulatory address and for recognizing the significant work of the Institute for Rare Diseases on the occasion of our 20th anniversary. This significant event will be celebrated at the XV National Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs, taking place on September 13-14, 2024, in Plovdiv. His acknowledgment is deeply valued and highlights our steadfast dedication to advancing research and enhancing care for patients with rare diseases.
Prof. Uğur Özbek graduated from Istanbul University’s Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty in 1986 and earned his PhD in Cancer Genetics in 1995. He specialized in Medical Genetics in 2006. He gained international experience working on neuroblastoma and pediatric leukemia at institutions in Genoa, Milan, and Memphis. He became an Associate Professor in 1997 and a full Professor in Genetics in 2003. He held the prestigious Querido Chair at Erasmus University in 2006-2007, lecturing on “Migration, Health, and Genetics.”
From 1994 to 2016, he was a faculty member at Istanbul University, serving in various leadership roles. In 2016, he joined Acıbadem University as the director of the Health Sciences Institute and chair of the Medical Genetics Department. Currently, he leads the RareBoost-EraChair project at the Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center. He established Turkey’s first Center for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases (ACURARE) in 2017. He has been a national coordinator for Orphanet and a member of the Health Institutes of Turkey’s Scientific Advisory Committee since 2016.