Berna Sozen, PhD
Assistant Professor of GeneticsDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Appointments
Genetics
Primary
Additional Titles
Assistant Professor, Genetics
Assistant Professor, Reproductive Sciences
Contact Info
Appointments
Genetics
Primary
Additional Titles
Assistant Professor, Genetics
Assistant Professor, Reproductive Sciences
Contact Info
Appointments
Genetics
Primary
Additional Titles
Assistant Professor, Genetics
Assistant Professor, Reproductive Sciences
Contact Info
About
Titles
Assistant Professor of Genetics
Assistant Professor, Genetics; Assistant Professor, Reproductive Sciences
Biography
Berna earned her undergraduate degree in Biology at Akdeniz University, Turkey in 2009. She obtained a MSc in Reproductive Biology in 2013 and a PhD in Developmental Biology in 2018 at Akdeniz University School of Medicine. During her MSc she worked with Prof. Tom P. Fleming at the University of Southampton, UK (2012), and during her PhD she worked with Prof. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz at the University of Cambridge, UK (2015-2018). She then undertook her post-doctoral research first at Cambridge (2018-2019), and later at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (2019-2020) with Prof. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz. In 2020, Berna joined the Yale faculty as an Assistant Professor to establish her independent research group at Yale Department of Genetics.
Appointments
Genetics
Assistant ProfessorPrimaryObstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
Assistant ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Associate
- California Institute of Technology (CalTech) (2020)
- Postdoctoral Associate
- University of Cambridge (2019)
- PhD
- Akdeniz University, Developmental Biology (2018)
- PhD Research Fellow
- University of Cambridge (2018)
- MSc
- Akdeniz University, Reproductive Biology (2013)
Research
Overview
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Bioengineering; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Human Development; Metabolism; Pluripotent Stem Cells; Stem Cells
ORCID
0000-0001-5834-5819- View Lab Website
modelling development & disease
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Berna Sozen's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Berna Sozen's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Berna Sozen is interested in exploring.
Emre Seli, MD
Ashley Abel
Jason Hou
Liangwen Zhong, PhD
Murat Basar, PhD
Murat Gunel, MD, FACS, FAHA, FAANS
41Publications
1,700Citations
Pluripotent Stem Cells
Stem Cells
Bioengineering
Publications
2024
A brief history of metabolic gradient theory.
Sozen B. A brief history of metabolic gradient theory. Nat Rev Genet 2024 PMID: 39414955, DOI: 10.1038/s41576-024-00790-2.Commentaries, Editorials and LettersSelective utilization of glucose metabolism guides mammalian gastrulation.
Cao D, Bergmann J, Zhong L, Hemalatha A, Dingare C, Jensen T, Cox AL, Greco V, Steventon B, Sozen B. Selective utilization of glucose metabolism guides mammalian gastrulation. Nature 2024 PMID: 39415005, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08044-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMannose controls mesoderm specification and symmetry breaking in mouse gastruloids
Dingare C, Cao D, Yang J, Sozen B, Steventon B. Mannose controls mesoderm specification and symmetry breaking in mouse gastruloids. Developmental Cell 2024, 59: 1523-1537.e6. PMID: 38636516, DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.03.031.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMesoderm specificationFeatures of embryonic developmentWnt pathway regulationEarly mesoderm developmentProtein glycosylationPathway regulationProteomic analysisIntracellular recyclingMesoderm developmentEmbryonic developmentGlycolytic intermediatesMannoseGlucose transportCompetitive inhibitorGlycosylationGlucose removal
2023
Modelling post-implantation human development to yolk sac blood emergence
Hislop J, Song Q, Keshavarz F. K, Alavi A, Schoenberger R, LeGraw R, Velazquez J, Mokhtari T, Taheri M, Rytel M, Chuva de Sousa Lopes S, Watkins S, Stolz D, Kiani S, Sozen B, Bar-Joseph Z, Ebrahimkhani M. Modelling post-implantation human development to yolk sac blood emergence. Nature 2023, 626: 367-376. PMID: 38092041, PMCID: PMC10849971, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06914-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsHuman embryosInduced pluripotent stem cellsLymphoid-like cellsStem cell modelPluripotent stem cellsPost-implantation stagesAmniotic cavityEarly post-implantation stagesHuman-based modelsStem cellsExtra-embryonic endodermHuman embryogenesisBlood formationDrug testingEarly haematopoiesisDisease modelsDisc morphologyHaematopoiesisEmbryonic tissuesCellular programmeCell modelPosterior domainWhat approaches are needed to understand human development and disease?
Sozen B, Flavell R, Lamming D, Silver D, Parrinello S, Abate-Shen C, Michor F, Sankaran V. What approaches are needed to understand human development and disease? Developmental Cell 2023, 58: 2822-2825. PMID: 38113848, DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.11.026.Commentaries, Editorials and LettersAltmetricShifting early embryology paradigms: Applications of stem cell-based embryo models in bioengineering
Abel A, Sozen B. Shifting early embryology paradigms: Applications of stem cell-based embryo models in bioengineering. Current Opinion In Genetics & Development 2023, 81: 102069. PMID: 37392541, PMCID: PMC10530566, DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2023.102069.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsSelf-patterning of human stem cells into post-implantation lineages
Pedroza M, Gassaloglu S, Dias N, Zhong L, Hou T, Kretzmer H, Smith Z, Sozen B. Self-patterning of human stem cells into post-implantation lineages. Nature 2023, 622: 574-583. PMID: 37369348, PMCID: PMC10584676, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06354-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsStem cellsPlacental cell typesPost-implantation embryonic developmentHuman pluripotent stem cellsPluripotent stem cellsHuman embryonic developmentEmbryonic developmentHuman stem cellsCongenital pathologyPost-implantation epiblastDiverse cell statesSingle-cell transcriptomicsAmniotic ectodermExtra-embryonic endodermSpontaneous differentiationSignaling hubThree-dimensional structureSecreted modulatorsCell typesA Spatiotemporal Compartmentalization of Glucose Metabolism Guides Mammalian Gastrulation Progression.
Cao D, Zhong L, Hemalatha A, Bergmann J, Cox AL, Greco V, Sozen B. A Spatiotemporal Compartmentalization of Glucose Metabolism Guides Mammalian Gastrulation Progression. BioRxiv 2023 PMID: 37333168, DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.06.543780.Peer-Reviewed Original Research In Press
2022
Carnegie in 4D? Stem-cell-based models of human embryo development
Sozen B, Conkar D, Veenvliet J. Carnegie in 4D? Stem-cell-based models of human embryo development. Seminars In Cell And Developmental Biology 2022, 131: 44-57. PMID: 35701286, DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.05.023.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsEmbryo developmentMouse in vitro modelsHuman embryo developmentHuman pluripotent stem cellsPluripotent stem cellsModels of embryo developmentHuman developmentInvestigation of embryogenesisHuman embryosStem cellsPrimate embryosIn vitro approachesIn vitroMammalian embryogenesisIn vitro platformMammalian developmentMiceEmbryosNatural embryoGastrulation stageCellsTranscriptional regulationOver-relianceFetusesUtero
2021
Human embryo polarization requires PLC signaling to mediate trophectoderm specification
Zhu M, Shahbazi M, Martin A, Zhang C, Sozen B, Borsos M, Mandelbaum RS, Paulson RJ, Mole MA, Esbert M, Titus S, Scott RT, Campbell A, Fishel S, Gradinaru V, Zhao H, Wu K, Chen ZJ, Seli E, de los Santos MJ, Goetz M. Human embryo polarization requires PLC signaling to mediate trophectoderm specification. ELife 2021, 10: e65068. PMID: 34569938, PMCID: PMC8514238, DOI: 10.7554/elife.65068.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsMeSH KeywordsActinsAdultBody PatterningCell DifferentiationCell LineageCell PolarityEmbryo Culture TechniquesEmbryo, MammalianFemaleGATA3 Transcription FactorGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalGene Expression Regulation, EnzymologicHumansPhosphoinositide Phospholipase CPhospholipase C betaPregnancySignal TransductionTime FactorsYoung AdultConceptsApical domain formationInner cell massEmbryo polarizationPhospholipase CFirst lineage segregationApico-basal polarizationEight-cell stageLineage segregationMammalian developmentTrophectoderm specificationTE fateApical enrichmentApical accumulationDistinct lineagesApical domainApolar cellsPar complexPolarized cellsRNA interferenceMolecular mechanismsF-actinHuman embryosCell stageEmbryosDomain formation
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
honor ReproGrant for Female Reproductive Science
Other AwardReproGrantDetails02/01/2023United Stateshonor NIH Director's New Innovator Award
National AwardOffice of the Director, National Institutes of Health/NIH/DHHSDetails10/10/2022United Stateshonor Smith Family Awards Program for Excellence in Biomedical Research
Regional AwardSmith Family FoundationDetails03/01/2022United Stateshonor Chen Innovation Award
Yale School of Medicine AwardYale Stem Cell CenterDetails02/01/2022United Stateshonor Bohmfalk Scholar in Medical Research
Yale School of Medicine AwardDetails09/25/2020United States
News & Links
Media
- Mouse blastocysts 4 days after fertilisation showing trophectoderm in cyan, that will give rise to the placenta; embryonic inner cell mass in yellow, that generates the embryo proper. F-Actin marks the cell membrane in magenta.
News
- October 18, 2024
Glucose Metabolism Acts as a Compass to Guide Embryonic Development
- November 01, 2023
From the journals
- June 27, 2023
New Model Provides Unprecedented Window Into Human Embryonic Development
- October 07, 2022Source: YaleNews
Three Early-career Scientists Recognized as ‘Innovators’
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