İdil Gemici
Ph.D. Researcher
After completing my bachelor's degree in Translation and Interpreting Studies at Yeditepe University, I have obtained my master's degree in Cognitive Science and Language at the University of Barcelona, where I have developed my research interests in neuro- and biolinguistics. Upon graduating, I have started my doctoral education in Neuroscience at Yeditepe University Graduate School of Health Sciences with a particular aim to conduct interdisciplinary research between the fields of neurophysiology, cognitive science and linguistics. As a PhD candidate, I am currently working on my doctoral thesis which aims to understand the neurobiological underpinnings of language control in sign and spoken languages under the supervision of Drs. Rabia Ergin and Funda Yildirim, and I am working as a full-time lab member at Ergin Language Lab at Boğaziçi University. In addition to my academic interests, I am a trained classical ballet dancer, an art enthusiast and a translator with a focus on book translations in evolutionary biology, language and cognition, and neurosciences.
Berke Can
MA Researcher
I studied psychology as an undergraduate at Boğaziçi University and am currently enrolled in the Boğaziçi University Cognitive Science MA Program, with psychology and philosophy as my areas of specialization. I am interested in the development of language and higher cognition, as well as philosophical approaches to social cognition, with a special interest in embodied and constructivist perspectives. My graduate work focuses on the impact of language experience on mindreading skills of adult signers of emerging sign languages such as CTSL, under the supervision of Drs. Rabia Ergin and Lucas Thorpe.
Tuğçe Bayar
MA Researcher
I have a BA degree from Boğaziçi University, Department of Western Languages and Literatures. At the moment, I am an MA student of Cognitive Science at Yeditepe University. My main interest is to explore language, specifically I am enthusiastic about studies of Evolutionary Linguistics, Cognitive Linguistics and Language Acquisition. All these three fields of Linguistics are attractive to me because they all contribute to understanding what enables us to use language the way we do, and how come this capacity pertains only to our kind. For my MA thesis, I am working on the cultural evolution of language under the supervision of Dr. Rabia Ergin, and trying to understand the pressures behind the compositional structure of human language.
Murat Cudal
Research Assistant
I studied Graphic Design in high school and college. Later on, I started working as a Turkish Sign Language (TID) instructor at METU Without Barriers and İşaret Adam Akademi. I am currently a TID instructor at Ankara University TÖMER Sign Language Coordinatorship. As a Deaf research assistant at Ergin Language Lab, I am responsible for transcribing data from the experiments with native Deaf TID signers, as well as giving TID lessons to my fellow teammates. My hobbies are graphic design, painting, photography, exercising and art. I also enjoy teaching and learning more about TID.
Sinan Bilgiç
Research Assistant
I obtained my bachelor's degree in Physical Education and Sport Teaching from Ondokuz Mayıs University. I am currently an MA student in Turkish Sign Language Translation Program at Ankara University. I also work as a Deaf research assistant at Ergin Language Lab. I am responsible for translating the experiment designs into Turkish Sign Language for our native Deaf participants. I also transcribe the experimental data obtained from these participants. Additionally, I give TID lessons to my fellow teammates. My hobbies are exercising, traveling and dancing.
Collaborators
Prof. Simon Kirby (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Prof. Ann Senghas (Barnard College, USA)
Prof. Ray Jackendoff (Tufts/MIT, USA)
Prof. Matthew Hall (Temple University, USA)
Dr. Limor Raviv (Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Netherlands)
Prof. Funda Yıldırım (Yeditepe University, Turkey)
Prof. Alexis Hervais-Adelman (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
Prof. Jennie Pyers (Wellesley College, USA)
Prof. Judith Degen (Stanford University, USA)
Prof. Andrew Nevins (University College London, UK)
Prof. Emily Morgan (UC Davis, USA)
Prof. Timothy O'Donnell (McGill University, Canada)
Prof. Carol Padden (UCSD, USA)
Prof. İrit Meir (University of Haifa, Israel)
Prof. Wendy Sandler (University of Haifa, Israel)
Prof. Diane Brentari (UChicago, USA)
Prof. Lila Gleitman (UPenn, USA)
Prof. Marie Coppola (UConn, USA)
Dr. Deniz İlkbaşaran (UCSD, USA)
Affiliated Researchers
Neslihan Cesur (Boğaziçi University)
Noyan Dokudan (Boğaziçi University)
Aslı Kuzgun (Boğaziçi University)
Semra Özdemir (Boğaziçi University)
