Berna Sozen, PhD

Dr. Berna Sozen is a developmental biologist whose research focuses on early mammalian embryogenesis and stem cell-based models of human development.

Dr. Sozen 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.

Dr. Sozen’s work has provided critical insights into human embryology and helped establish stem cell-derived embryo models as powerful systems for developmental and biomedical research. These pioneering studies have advanced understanding of lineage specification, tissue morphogenesis, and the self-organization of embryonic structures. Her laboratory now integrates experimental embryology, stem cell technologies, multi-omics profiling, and advanced imaging to uncover the mechanisms guiding early human development.

Dr. Sozen’s contributions have been recognized with several prestigious honors, including the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, the Pew Scholars Award, and the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science.