Speakers
Sandra Ramdial
Sandra Ramdial is President of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO), bringing over 35 years of experience and a career dedicated to advancing the profession and improving access to prosthetic and orthotic services.
A certified prosthetist from Canada, Sandra’s career spans clinical practice, research, education, industry, and organizational leadership. She served as Operations Manager of the Prosthetic and Orthotic Department at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and has held leadership roles at both national and international levels, including President of the Canadian Association of Prosthetics & Orthotics and ISPO Canada.
Throughout her career, Sandra has been passionate about connecting people across disciplines, professions, and borders. She champions global collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation, bringing together diverse expertise to strengthen the profession and expand access to prosthetic and orthotic services and assistive technology worldwide. She believes that when we connect people and work together across borders, we can move the field forward and make a lasting difference in the lives of the people who use and benefit from the services and technologies we provide.
Hakan Akkaya
Hakan Akkaya is a Turkish Paralympic national fencer with an educational background at Ankara University’s School of Physical Education and Sports. He began fencing in 2013 and contributed to the development of wheelchair fencing in Türkiye in 2015. That year, he won a bronze medal in foil at the U23 World Championships in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. In 2016, he earned silver in épée and bronze in foil at the U23 World Championships in Stadskanaal, Netherlands. He became the U23 World Champion in foil in Warsaw, Poland, in 2017. The following year, he won silver in foil and bronze in épée, finishing as the U23 world ranking leader in foil. He made history as Türkiye’s first Paralympic fencer to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. In 2021, he won a silver medal in Pisa, Italy. Currently competing for Spor Toto Sports Club, Akkaya founded the Hakan Akkaya Fencing Academy in collaboration with Spor Toto and PTT. Through the academy, he aims to introduce individuals with and without disabilities to fencing and support the development of talented athletes.
Ahmet Kaplan
Ahmet Kaplan is a 24-year-old national wheelchair tennis player from Mersin, Türkiye. He is currently studying Coaching Education at the Faculty of Sports Sciences at Çukurova University. He has been playing wheelchair tennis for six years and is currently ranked fourth in the world.
At the age of eight, he lost both legs and one finger in an electrical accident. After six months of hospital treatment, returning to everyday life was challenging. Although he stayed away from sports for some time, he eventually rediscovered his passion for physical activity through wheelchair basketball. After five months, his club closed due to financial difficulties, leading him to try an individual sport.
His introduction to tennis happened by chance. In his first tournament, he placed third in Türkiye and was selected for the national team. This achievement strengthened his connection to tennis and marked an important turning point in his sporting career.
For Kaplan, tennis is more than a sport. It represents freedom, happiness, resilience, and a new beginning, helping him overcome difficult memories and reconnect with life.
Kübra KORKUT
Kübra Korkut was born in Yozgat in 1994. At the age of four, she lost both legs and her right arm in an electrical accident. She received treatment in Ankara and began using prostheses. At eight, she enrolled at Doğan Çağlar Special Education School, where she studied as a boarding student for 12 years.
She started playing table tennis at the age of 12 and developed her skills through intensive training. She achieved her first major international success in Hungary in 2009. At the 2010 World Championships in South Korea, she won silver medals in both singles and team events. She also won a team silver medal at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
She earned bronze at the 2015 European Championships and silver at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, 2017 European Championships, and 2018 World Championships. She also won silver in 2019 and bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. She became World Champion in 2022 and European Champion in 2023. She subsequently won silver medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games and the 2025 European Championships.
Korkut graduated from Gazi University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Department of Coaching Education. She aims to continue her sporting achievements and train athletes with physical disabilities to represent Türkiye internationally.
Jóna Valgerður Kristjánsdóttir
Jóna Valgerður Kristjánsdóttir is a Clinical Evaluation and Investigation Specialist in Research & Development at Össur, Iceland, with nine years of experience in lower limb prosthetics research.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Reykjavík University and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Science from the University of Iceland. Her expertise includes human-subject research, clinical study design, and the evaluation of novel prosthetic technologies, gained through both academic research at Landspitali, the University Hospital and the leadership of multiple product development studies at Össur.
Ajmal Miah
Ajmal Miah is a Technology Platform Manager at Össur and serves as the Global Product Lead for the Woodcast®️ and UCAST®️ product portfolios. With over 20 years of experience spanning the pharmaceutical and orthopaedic industries, he has built extensive expertise in product management, development, innovation, manufacturing, regulatory compliance, and global commercialization.
Throughout his career, Ajmal has successfully led cross-functional teams across engineering, quality, regulatory, supply chain, clinical, and commercial functions, transforming innovative healthcare concepts into market-ready products. As Global Product Lead for Woodcast®️ and UCAST®️, he is responsible for shaping product strategy, driving innovation, expanding global market adoption, and ensuring these solutions continue to deliver value for clinicians and patients worldwide.
Ajmal is passionate about advancing technologies that improve patient outcomes and enhance clinical practice. His work focuses on bridging innovation, business strategy, and healthcare delivery to create practical, sustainable solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and healthcare professionals.
Martin Wehrle
Global Productmanager Upper Limb
Martin Wehrle is a Global Product Manager and experienced user in the field of upper limb prosthetics. He has been closely involved in the development and testing of innovative prosthetic solutions, contributing valuable clinical and user-centered insights throughout the product development process.
The speedhand is among the key products within his area of responsibility. In addition, Martin has played an important role in the development of the new michelangelo Hand.
Allison Pfister
Lower Limb Prosthetics Trainer, CPO
Passionate about advancing clinical excellence, Allison is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals through education, digital innovation, and the application of advanced prosthetic technologies.
She collaborates closely with clinicians to support evidence-based practice, optimize patient outcomes, and promote best practices in lower limb prosthetic care.
Serap Alsancak
I am a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Chair of the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics at Ankara University, where I have served as a professor for 23 years. I graduated as a physiotherapist from Hacettepe University in 1984, received my MSc degree from Gazi University in 1986, and completed my PhD in Prosthetics and Orthotics at the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, in 1995. Between 1984 and 1991, I worked with Prof. Dr. Hidayet Erdem at his private Prosthetics and Orthotics Centre. Since the beginning of my professional career, I have dedicated my life to advancing the field of prosthetics and orthotics.
For more than 40 years, my academic and professional career has focused on advancing prosthetics and orthotics as a scientific discipline, profession, and community. I am one of the founders of the Turkish Scientific Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics (TSAPO), where I served as President for 11 years. I made a significant contribution to the development and establishment of the National Prosthetics and Orthotics Standards in Türkiye. I also served as Chair of National-ISPO from 1995 to 2025 and currently serve as its Honorary Chair.
I founded the Orthopedic Prosthetics and Orthotics Program at Ankara University Vocational School of Health Services in 1991, established the Prosthetics and Orthotics Laboratory in 1993, and founded the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics within the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2019. These initiatives contributed to the development of prosthetics and orthotics education, research, and professional practice in Türkiye.
Internationally, I have served as a visiting lecturer at the University of Strathclyde (1995, 1997; British Council scholarship), the University of Salford (2000), and La Trobe University (2006). I have also organized and participated in social responsibility projects supporting the education and professional development of prosthetics and orthotics professionals in Syria, Sudan, and Mexico.
I am a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) and serve as an ISPO mentor.
https://avesis.ankara.edu.tr/researcher
Ayşenur Uğurlu
Prof. Dr. Ayşenur Uğurlu, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Çevre Mühendisliği Bölümünde öğretim üyesi olarak görev yapmakta olup 2006 yılından bu yana profesör unvanına sahiptir. Lisans ve yüksek lisans eğitimini Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Çevre Mühendisliği Bölümünde, doktora eğitimini ise İngiltere’de Birmingham Üniversitesi İnşaat Mühendisliği alanında tamamlamıştır.
Başlıca araştırma alanları arasında çevresel biyoteknoloji, atık su arıtımı ve yeniden kullanımı, katı atık yönetimi ve atıkların değerlendirilmesi, anaerobik biyoteknoloji, atıklardan biyogaz üretimi, biyolojik besin maddesi giderimi, su kalitesi yönetimi ve çevre yönetim sistemleri yer almaktadır. Akademik araştırmaların yanı sıra uygulamalı çevre mühendisliği projelerinde de kapsamlı deneyime sahiptir.
Prof. Dr. Ayşenur Uğurlu is a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Engineering at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Türkiye, where she has been a professor since 2006. She received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Environmental Engineering from Middle East Technical University and her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK.
Her main research interests include environmental biotechnology, wastewater treatment and reuse, solid waste management and valorization, anaerobic biotechnology, biogas production from wastes, biological nutrient removal, water quality management, and environmental management systems. She has extensive experience in both academic research and applied environmental engineering projects.
Prof. Uğurlu has served as Head of the Environmental Engineering Department at Hacettepe University and has been Director of the Environmental Research and Application Center since 2021. She has also held visiting professor positions at Iowa State University, Boston University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and conducted research visits in Germany and the UK.
She has authored numerous international journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers and has supervised many MSc and PhD theses. Her recent research focuses particularly on waste valorization, anaerobic digestion, biogas production, microalgae, and sustainable resource recovery.
Web site: https://avesis.hacettepe.edu.tr/ugurlu
İlke Kurt
Lecturer Dr. İlke Kurt is an academic at Trakya University’s Edirne Vocational College of Technical Sciences, specializing in biomedical engineering and computational sciences. İlke Kurt completed his undergraduate education in Biomedical Engineering at Near East University and obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees in Computational Sciences from the Institute of Natural Sciences at Trakya University. Throughout his academic career, İlke Kurt has conducted research on medical signal processing, the integration of artificial intelligence into healthcare, machine learning, and gait analysis technologies. İlke Kurt’s scientific work also includes the early diagnosis, detection, and clinical monitoring of Parkinson’s disease using artificial intelligence based algorithms, as well as the characterization of gait and respiration in individuals with amputations. Through past and current roles as a researcher and scholarship holder in TÜBİTAK projects, İlke Kurt continues to develop innovative solutions in health technologies and contribute to the scientific literature.
Institutional link: https://personel.trakya.edu.tr/ilkekurt
Rukiye Taşdemir
I was born in Ordu in 1982. I graduated from the Prosthetics and Orthotics Department of Afyon Kocatepe University in 2002. I began my professional career in 2002. In 2004, my husband Müslüm Taşdemir and I established the Göreme Prosthetics and Orthotics Production and Application Center, where we continue to work together while pursuing technical and scientific development. I continue to expand my education because I value increasing my professional and scientific experience. I am currently a graduate of Hacettepe University’s Occupational Therapy Department and am undertaking an internship. To contribute to the profession scientifically and within the sector through professional representation, I serve as Deputy General Chair, Deputy Chair Responsible for Official Institutions, and Chair of OPODER Women within the OPODER association.
Mustafa Demiral
Mustafa Demiral works as an orthopedic prosthetics and orthotics technician at the University of Health Sciences Ankara Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital. His educational qualifications listed in his CV include an associate degree in Prosthetics and Orthotics from Ankara University in 1993, a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Anadolu University in 2004, a bachelor’s degree in Emergency Aid and Disaster Management from Istanbul University in 2018, and a thesis-based master’s program in Orthotics and Prosthetics at Lokman Hekim University, listed for 2026.
He worked as a prosthetics and orthotics technician at Erdem Medical Prosthetics and Orthotics Application Center from 1993 to 1998, at GATA from 1998 to 2000, and at the Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation Center from 2000 to 2017. Since 2017, he has continued in the same role at the University of Health Sciences Ankara Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital.
Sevgin Yosmaoğlu
From 1997 to 2002, she completed her undergraduate education at Hacettepe University’s School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. From 2017 to 2019, she completed her master’s degree in the Prosthetics, Orthotics and Biomechanics Program at Hacettepe University’s Institute of Health Sciences, followed by her doctoral degree in the same program in 2025.
Since 2003, she has been working as a physiotherapist at the University of Health Sciences Ankara Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital. Her professional work focuses particularly on post-amputation rehabilitation, prosthetic applications and prosthetic rehabilitation.
Erhan İlhan Konukseven
Prof. Dr. Erhan İlhan Konukseven is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU). He received his PhD from the METU Department of Mechanical Engineering in June 1997. He then carried out postdoctoral research in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, where he focused on mobile robotics and sensor-based motion planning.
Hazal Düger
Hazal Düger graduated from the Department of Industrial Engineering at TED University in 2022, ranking second in her department. She began her professional career in resource planning at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) and subsequently joined Ortotek. She has been working as a production planning engineer at Ortotek for approximately two years. In this role, she works on the production processes of prosthetic and orthotic products, contributing an engineering perspective to planning, manufacturing, and product development. Her experience in production processes has strengthened her interest in how material selection and design decisions affect product performance.
Since 2024, she has been pursuing a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at TOBB University of Economics and Technology. Her interests include manufacturing methods, three dimensional design, the mechanical behavior of materials, composite material mechanics, and finite element analysis. She focuses particularly on the mechanical performance of carbon fiber reinforced structures in prosthetic applications. In her studies, she aims to examine how different material and design approaches affect load bearing, deformation, and durability. By combining her experience in production environments with engineering studies, she aims to contribute to the development of prosthetic components.
Kurumsal bağlantı: https://www.ortotek.com/aboutus
Kerim Bora Yılmaz
Prof.Dr. Kerim Bora Yılmaz is a Professor of General Surgery at Gülhane Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences. His clinical areas of interest include cancer surgery, diabetic foot disease, chronic wound management, and regenerative medicine. He is involved in the surgical treatment of breast, thyroid, gastrointestinal, and soft tissue malignancies.
His scientific research primarily focuses on cancer immunology, the tumor microenvironment, cellular immunotherapies, and regenerative treatments. He conducts studies on the development and clinical application of adoptive cellular therapies based on Cytokine-Induced Killer (CIK) cells, Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs), and Dendritic Cells (DCs) in cancer treatment.
His research in wound healing and regenerative medicine includes exosome-based therapies, intralesional epidermal growth factor (EGF), stromal vascular fraction (SVF), 3D bioprinting technologies, and advanced tissue engineering applications. The management of oncologic wounds, diabetic foot reconstruction, and the development of innovative regenerative treatment strategies for complex wounds are also among his major academic areas of interest.
Dr. Yılmaz serves as a member of the Scientific Committee on Chronic Wound Care of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye.
Aydan Köse
Prof. Dr. Aydan Ayşe Köse is a medical scholar specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery, serving in both academic and administrative roles within the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, Eskişehir Osmangazi University. After serving as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine since 2000, Aydan Ayşe Köse was appointed as Full Professor in 2011. As of 2024, Aydan Ayşe Köse also serves as the Head of the Department. Throughout her academic career, Aydan Ayşe Köse has focused particularly on chronic wound management, cleft lip and palate, and microsurgery. A member of the Turkish Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons and the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Association, Prof. Dr. Köse serves as a reviewer for prestigious national and international journals including CUREUS, the Turkish Journal of Plastic Surgery, Osmangazi Medical Journal, and the Journal of Uludag University Medical Faculty, continuing to contribute to the scientific literature through publications and scholarly citations.
E-posta: aydan.kose@ogu.edu.tr
H.Hakan Uysal
Assoc. Prof. Dr. H. Hakan Uysal is a faculty member and Head of the Orthopedic Prosthetics and Orthotics Program at Eskişehir Osmangazi University. H. Hakan Uysal completed his undergraduate education at Hacettepe University School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation in 1989, and earned his master’s degree in 1996 and his Ph.D. in 2002 from Hacettepe University Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. His research interests include orthopedic and neurological rehabilitation applications, stem cell rehabilitation, diabetic foot, and ocular prostheses. H. Hakan Uysal has served as a researcher in TÜBİTAK 1501, 1004, and SOBAG-supported projects focusing on robotic rehabilitation, stem cell applications, and medical devices. A member of the Turkish Physiotherapists Association and the Brain Research and Neurosciences Society of Turkey, as well as a Board Member of the Turkish Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uysal serves as a Field Editor for the Turkish Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics Science (TJPOS).
E-posta: huysal@ogu.edu.tr
Tezel Yıldırım Şahan
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tezel Yıldırım Şahan is an academic at the Gulhane Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, University of Health Sciences, specializing in physiotherapy, rehabilitation, biomechanics, and prosthetics-orthotics. Following clinical experience in private and public hospitals, Tezel Yıldırım Şahan served as a faculty member at various state universities and completed postgraduate education in the field of prosthetics and orthotics. Throughout her academic career, Tezel Yıldırım Şahan has taught courses on biomechanics, kinesiology, and clinical evaluation, while conducting research on lower extremity biomechanics, orthoses for diabetic foot pressure distribution, post-amputation rehabilitation, clinical gait and balance analysis, orthopedic rehabilitation, biomechanical data analysis, digital health technologies in rehabilitation, and evidence-based prosthetics and orthotics practices. Having led national and international clinical research projects and innovative rehabilitation technology initiatives, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tezel Yıldırım Şahan serves as a reviewer and editor for reputable journals focusing on health technologies and biomechanics, continuing to bridge clinical practice with technological innovation through scholarly output and sectoral projects.
E-posta: tezelyildirim.sahan@sbu.edu.tr
Umut Altınkaynak
Umut Altınkaynak is a researcher specializing in the mathematical modeling of human movement, mechanism theory, biomechanical systems, and wearable robotics. In his research, Umut Altınkaynak questions the limitations of using non-pathological human movement patterns as a universal reference, focusing instead on revealing the individual mechanical and behavioral characteristics unique to a person’s specific pathological condition. Emphasizing the objective measurement, mathematical modeling, and clinical translation of the kinematic and dynamic properties of human movement, Umut Altınkaynak conducts studies ranging from gait analysis and movement cycle modeling to plantar mechanics, biological system interactions, and the re-evaluation of motor control features of the ipsilateral extremity in stroke individuals. Having represented Turkey in the “First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics” program with his Thermograph project, Umut Altınkaynak has served as a researcher and deputy project manager in TÜBİTAK TEYDEB 1501 and 1507 R&D projects. He continues to contribute to health technologies by taking active roles in clinical trials, risk analysis, validation, and usability processes under MDD and MDR frameworks.
Hilal Keklicek
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hilal Keklicek is an academic at Trakya University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, specializing in prosthetics-orthotics and biomechanics. Hilal Keklicek completed her undergraduate education in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation at Hacettepe University in 2006, and earned her master’s degree in 2011 and doctoral degree in 2015 from the Prosthetics-Orthotics and Biomechanics Program at Hacettepe University. Throughout her academic career, Hilal Keklicek has conducted research on prosthetics-orthotics, neurological rehabilitation, gait analysis, biomechanical analysis, balance assessment, and time series in movement analysis. Holding a patent and having served in TÜBİTAK-supported projects, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Keklicek also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the TÜBİTAK Health Sciences Research Grant Group (SBAG), continuing to contribute to the scientific literature and health technologies.
E-posta: hilalkeklicek@trakya.edu.tr
Necati Yücel Yıldız
Necati Yücel YILDIZ worked in the private sector for 8 years and served for 27 years as a prosthetics and orthotics technician and healthcare administrator at GATA and the Turkish Armed Forces Rehabilitation and Care Center (Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital).
He graduated from the Prosthetics and Orthotics Department of Hacettepe University School of Health Services in 1989 and completed the Healthcare Management Program at Istanbul University in 2021. During his professional career, he served as an education coordinator and instructor for undergraduate and associate degree students in the Department of Prosthetics and Orthotics at Gülhane Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Health Sciences. He retired from public service in 2024 and continues his career in the private sector. He has worked in the fields of prosthetics, orthotics, and rehabilitation technologies for a total of 35 years.
His professional areas of expertise include lower- and upper-limb prosthetics, orthotic applications, digital design and manufacturing, 3D printing technologies, patient assessment, and clinical application services. He holds more than 60 professional certificates, including training in Ottobock silicone prostheses and advanced prosthetic technologies.
He has participated in numerous national and international congresses, symposia, and professional events, including the Ottoworld Congress and Trade Show in Leipzig, Germany (2005, 2024, and 2026), an international trade fair in Russia in 2019, and congresses and symposia organized by the Turkish Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics and OPODER.
He has served on the executive boards of the Turkish Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics and the Prosthetics and Orthotics Technicians Association. He currently serves as Treasurer on the Executive Board of the Turkish Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics. Drawing on his extensive professional experience in prosthetics and orthotics, he contributes to the planning and organization of scientific and professional activities in the field.
Mehmet Can Yıldız
Mehmet Can Yıldız is a practitioner and manager specializing in 3D digital systems, clinical applications, and sales management, with over 12 years of professional experience in the orthopedic prosthetics and orthotics sector. Mehmet Can Yıldız completed his undergraduate education in the Department of Orthopedic Prosthetics and Orthotics at Hacettepe University. Having worked at Nanomed Orthopedics for 9 years, Mehmet Can Yıldız has been serving as the Sales Manager at Proten Orthopedics Inc. for the past three years. His areas of expertise encompass prosthetics and orthotics workshop and clinical practices, patient evaluation, impression taking, modeling, laboratory setup, technical team training, and operational management, as well as domestic and international sales operations, product supply, import processes, strategic planning, and 3D prosthetics-orthotics digital system integration. Having engaged in the technical application processes of leading brands such as Ottobock, Össur, Proteor, Endolite, College Park, Covvi, STG, Ortotek, and Proted, Mehmet Can Yıldız actively leads the sales and marketing activities for Proteor and Covvi product lines, while managing the infrastructure setup and integration of Proteor Digital Suite 3D systems in Turkey. In addition to contributing technical expertise to domestic manufacturers, he has managed international projects and digital system implementations across France (Proteor Dijon), Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and at OTWorld Leipzig (2024, 2026), continuing to advance the field through university lectures, symposium presentations, and technical workshops.
Selim Eskiizmirliler
Assoc. Prof. Dr. T. Selim Eskiizmirliler is an academic at Université Paris Cité (Department of Life Sciences) and CNRS INCC (Integrative Neuroscience & Cognition Center), specializing in computational neuroscience and neuroengineering. Selim Eskiizmirliler completed his master’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU) and earned his Ph.D. in Signal & Image Processing from ENST-Telecom ParisTech in 2000. Between 2001 and 2003, Selim Eskiizmirliler headed the Biologically Inspired Systems Laboratory at Örebro University, conducting post-doctoral research on sensory-motor information fusion in cerebellar pathways. His current research focuses on brain-machine interfaces, medical applications for controlling hand prostheses and artificial limbs, robotics, biologically inspired sensory-motor control systems, artificial neural networks, and digital signal and image processing.
Kurumsal bağlantılar: https://incc-paris.fr/ ; https://incc-paris.fr/tc2n/ ; https://incc-paris.fr/people/selim-eskiizmirliler/
Yavuz Yakut
Prof. Yavuz Yakut serves as the Head of the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Hasan Kalyoncu University. He completed his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Hacettepe University. He subsequently continued his academic career at the same university for many years, where he served as a faculty member and Head of the Prosthetics, Orthotics and Biomechanics Unit.
Prof. Yakut has authored numerous national and international scientific publications, books, and research studies in the fields of prosthetics, orthotics, biomechanics, and scoliosis rehabilitation. In addition to his academic leadership and scientific contributions, he is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Exercise Therapy and Rehabilitation (JETR), a scientific journal covering physiotherapy and rehabilitation as well as multidisciplinary health sciences. He also holds administrative roles on various committees within the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, and the Council of Higher Education.
Sefa Gümrük Aslan
Sefa Gümrük Aslan completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Ankara Training and Research Hospital. From 2018 to 2024, she worked as a specialist physician at Ankara Gaziler Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, and since August 2024 she has served there as an Assistant Professor.
Her main research interests include musculoskeletal disorders, neurological rehabilitation, osteoarthritis, chronic pain, ultrasound-guided interventional procedures, ozone therapy, and lymphoedema and lipedema rehabilitation. She has published numerous articles in international and national peer-reviewed journals and authored several book chapters in rehabilitation medicine. Her H-index is 6. She is a board member of the Turkish Lymphedema and Lipedema Association and holds national and international certifications, including the European Board Certificate in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.
Zehra Mutlu Arat
Zehra Mutlu Koçer was born in Siirt, Türkiye, in 1997. After completing her primary and secondary education in Siirt, she moved to Ankara for her university education and graduated from the Department of Orthopedic Prosthetics and Orthotics at Hacettepe University in 2018. She is currently continuing her education in Orthotics and Prosthetics at the University of Health Sciences and in Healthcare Management at Anadolu University.
Since 2020, she has been working as a Prosthetics and Orthotics Technician at Gaziler Physical Therapy Training and Research Hospital. Her professional responsibilities include the planning and fabrication of orthopedic prosthetic and orthotic devices, patient assessment, measurement, device fitting, and support throughout the rehabilitation process. She also gained international professional experience during a four-month assignment in Somalia as a Prosthetics and Orthotics Technician.
Her professional interests include prosthetic and orthotic applications, patient assessment and device fitting, quality-oriented healthcare practices, multidisciplinary teamwork, and current technologies in prosthetics and orthotics.
Ceren Kuzu
Specialist Physiotherapist Ceren Kuzu graduated from the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Pamukkale University in 2012. She completed her master’s degree in the Prosthetics, Orthotics and Biomechanics Program at Hacettepe University in 2022 and is continuing her doctoral studies in the same program. Since 2017, she has been working at Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, where she conducts clinical and academic studies particularly in amputee rehabilitation. Her work focuses on prosthesis use and adaptation, postural adaptations, functional performance, and the clinical effects of prosthetic technologies.
Emre Aksu
Prof. Dr. Ali Emre Aksu completed his secondary and high school education at Galatasaray High School and graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in 1992, receiving his medical degree. In 1994, he began his residency training in the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine. Following his residency, he worked as a lecturer at the same institution, with a particular focus on hand surgery and reconstructive microsurgery.
In 2004-2005, he spent one year as a research fellow at the Plastic Surgery Research Center of the University of Pittsburgh in the United States. During this period, he conducted research on the use of adipose-derived stem cells in bone and soft-tissue engineering, as well as the immunoregulatory effects of bone marrow stem cells and the induction of immune tolerance in composite tissue allotransplantation. He continued his work at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine as a faculty member in the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery and as Head of the Division of Hand Surgery. His areas of interest include disorders and surgery of the hand and upper extremity, congenital hand and upper extremity anomalies, head and neck tumors and reconstructive surgery, and skin tumors and cancers. He holds subspecialty certification in Hand Surgery and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Çiğdem Öksüz
Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Öksüz completed her undergraduate education in physiotherapy at Hacettepe University and her master’s and doctoral education in occupational therapy. She has been serving as a professor since 2018. At Hacettepe University Faculty of Health Sciences, she is Vice Dean and Head of the Hand Therapy Unit in the Department of Occupational Therapy.
Her main areas of work are upper-extremity orthoses and hand rehabilitation. She has supervised numerous theses on 3D-printed relative motion orthoses, antibacterial orthoses designed using reverse engineering, and the assessment of congenital upper-extremity anomalies. She is leading an EUREKA-Eurostars-supported vibrotactile glove project and a project involving the development of a device for assessing thumb proprioception.
Since 2021, she has served as Secretary General of the European Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (EFSHT). She served as President of the Turkish Hand Therapists Association from 2017 to 2023 and is Classification Chair at World Shooting Para Sport.
Kurumsal bağlantı: https://research.hacettepe.edu.tr/tr/persons/%C3%A7i%C4%9Fdem-%C3%B6ks%C3%BCz-10/
Sinem Ece Özen
Sinem Ece Özen was born in 1999. She graduated from the Orthopedic Prosthetics and Orthotics Program at Hacettepe University in 2020 and qualified as an Orthopedic Prosthetics and Orthotics Technician.
She began her professional career at Ankara Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital in 2022, where she continues to work.
Her professional interests focus on orthotic and prosthetic applications and silicone prosthesis fabrication. In her clinical practice, she is involved in individualized modeling, design, and fabrication processes aimed at meeting patients’ functional and aesthetic needs.
Beste Şahin Güzel
Beste Şahin began her education in the Prosthetics and Orthotics Program at the University of Health Sciences, Vocational School of Health Services in 2017 and graduated in 2019.
Since 2020, she has been working at the Prosthetics and Orthotics Workshop of Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital. Her professional practice focuses on the fabrication and application of prosthetic and orthotic devices. She is particularly involved in the preparation and fitting of individualized prostheses and orthoses for veterans, as well as technical applications supporting the rehabilitation process.
She continues her professional development through participation in scientific meetings, seminars, and training programs. In 2022, she participated in the Prosthetics-Orthotics Innovation Symposium with a prepared presentation. Between February and June 2024, she was temporarily assigned to Somalia State Hospital, where she continued her professional activities in the hospital’s prosthetics and orthotics workshop.
At the congress, she will share her professional experience and technical expertise during Technical Workshop III: “Thermoplastic Splint Applications Following Upper Extremity Tendon Injuries.”
Serkan Sağlık
Born in 1979, Serkan Sağlık graduated from the Prosthetics and Orthotics Program at Osmangazi University in 2000. Following his graduation, he worked in various private companies in the prosthetics and orthotics sector, serving as a responsible manager and gaining extensive professional experience in the field.
For the past six years, he has been working at the Ankara Gaziler Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences. He regularly participates in national and local congresses, professional training programs, and sectoral fairs to further improve his professional knowledge and skills.
In addition to his clinical responsibilities, he contributes to the education and professional development of prosthetics and orthotics students. At his institution, he supports the workshop-based practical training and internships of students from the University of Health Sciences and Ankara University, encouraging their active participation in prosthetic and orthotic fabrication processes and helping them develop their practical skills, professional experience, and interest in the profession.
Hanifi Erol
Hanifi Erol completed his bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Kırıkkale University in 2014 and his master’s degree in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at the same university in 2019. He began his professional career in 2014 at a special education and rehabilitation center and subsequently worked as a physiotherapist at Kırıkkale Yüksek İhtisas Hospital and Gülhane Training and Research Hospital. Since 2020, he has been working at Ankara Bilkent City Hospital Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital as the person responsible for the Pediatric Rehabilitation Laboratory, and since 2025 he has also served as Coordinating Physiotherapist. His areas of practice include pediatric rehabilitation, orthotic and prosthetic rehabilitation, and orthopedic rehabilitation. He is a member of the Turkish Physiotherapists Association (TFD).
Zeynep Büyükardıç
Specialist Physiotherapist Zeynep Büyükardıç graduated from the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Mustafa Kemal University in 2015. She completed her master’s degree in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Hasan Kalyoncu University in 2026. She began her professional career as a physiotherapist at Sevinç Yağmuru Special Education and Rehabilitation Center, where she worked from 2015 to 2018. From 2019 to 2023, she served as a manager at FizyoSense Sensory Integration and Wellness Center. Since 2024, she has been working as a physiotherapist at the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Buğday Tanesi Prosthetics and Orthotics Production and Application Center. As part of her professional development, she has completed various training and certification programs, including Ayres Sensory Integration, FÖLDI Lymphedema Training, Kinesiotaping 1-2-3, the Test of Sensory Functions in Infants (TSFI), dry needling, HEP, assessment and treatment of cerebral palsy, orthotic management in cerebral palsy, Basic Body Awareness Therapy, and BETY.
Eyyup Yıldız
Eyyup Yıldız was born in Gaziantep in 1993. After graduating from the Accounting and Tax Applications Program at Gaziantep University, he completed his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Anadolu University and his master’s degree in Business Administration at the Institute of Social Sciences, Gaziantep University. He has been working at Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality since 2015 and currently serves as the Branch Manager for Disability and Elderly Services. He has been involved in the planning and implementation of numerous initiatives in social services, accessibility, rehabilitation, and project management for individuals with disabilities and older adults. He has played an active role in developing the Prosthetics and Orthotics Production and Application Center, the Wheelchair Repair and Maintenance Workshop, the Barrier-Free Life Center, and service models for older adults. He also coordinated the “Overcoming Barriers Together in the Disaster of the Century” Project, which provided medical supplies and prosthetic-orthotic support across 11 provinces affected by the February 6, 2023 earthquakes. His current work focuses on project management, financing, disability-related social service models, and the development of prosthetic and orthotic services.
Serap Fatma Cansel Serin Çınar
Following her bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics from Süleyman Demirel University (2008) and Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation from Dumlupınar University (2014), she earned her specialist qualification by completing a master’s degree in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at Hasan Kalyoncu University. After working as a physiotherapist in charge at Bandırma Royal Private Hospital and Sancak Medical Center, she has continued her clinical practice at the Hatay branch of the Turkish Foundation for Children with Cerebral Palsy since 2023. Her professional work primarily focuses on Snoezelen therapy, technology-assisted rehabilitation methods, pediatric rehabilitation, amputee rehabilitation, and phantom limb exercises. In her clinical practice, she adopts evidence-based and innovative approaches.
Institutional website: Turkish Foundation for Children with Cerebral Palsy
Zafer Çınar
Zafer Çınar graduated from the Department of Primary School Teaching, Faculty of Education, at Manisa Celal Bayar University in 2006. After beginning his professional career as a primary school teacher within the Ministry of National Education, he completed a training program in special education in 2009 and subsequently began working as a special education teacher.
Between 2009 and 2013, Çınar worked at various rehabilitation centers. In 2014, he joined the Turkish Foundation for Children with Cerebral Palsy, where he assumed key responsibilities in various roles, including special education teacher, assistant director, and student affairs manager. During this period, he was involved in the planning of education and rehabilitation services, admission and registration processes, organization of therapy sessions, and internal institutional coordination.
Since July 2023, Zafer Çınar has been serving as the Branch Manager of the Hatay Disability Services Center of the Turkish Foundation for Children with Cerebral Palsy, where he continues to undertake management and coordination responsibilities while contributing to the fields of special education and disability services.
Institutional website: https://www.tscv.org.tr/
Mücella Özbay Karakuş
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mücella Özbay Karakuş received her bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Fırat University, completed her master’s degree in the field of image processing, and earned her PhD with research focusing on dye-sensitized solar cells and sensor applications.
Throughout her academic career, she has held academic positions at Yozgat Bozok University and Ahi Evran University, where she undertook teaching, research, and administrative responsibilities. She currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering at İzmir Bakırçay University.
Her research interests include renewable energy systems, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), sensor and biosensor technologies, artificial intelligence and machine learning-based engineering applications, and biomedical systems. With numerous publications in national and international journals, experience as a principal investigator in scientific research projects, and supervision of graduate theses, Özbay Karakuş continues to pursue interdisciplinary research focused on innovative engineering solutions. https://unis.bakircay.edu.tr/akademisyen-detay/mucella.ozbaykarakus
Emre Ölmez
Asst. Prof. Dr. Emre Ölmez is a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, at İzmir Bakırçay University. He served as Vice Dean of the same faculty from 2023 to 2026. He completed his PhD in 2020 with a dissertation on automated meniscus segmentation in magnetic resonance (MR) images.
His research focuses on medical image processing, biomedical signal processing, and artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support systems in healthcare. He has served as a principal investigator and researcher in institutionally funded scientific research projects addressing the automated segmentation of knee cartilage, multispectral MR analysis for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoarthritis, bone fracture detection in radiological images, and deep learning-based classification of biological signals. He has also supervised completed master’s and doctoral theses in these fields.
In addition, he has contributed to rehabilitation-focused projects, including an AI-assisted exercise assistant. He has published research articles in international peer-reviewed journals as well as book chapters. At both undergraduate and graduate levels, he teaches courses on computer vision, digital signal processing, and artificial intelligence in healthcare.
Murat Ali Çınar
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Ali Çınar is a faculty member in the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Hasan Kalyoncu University. He began his academic career as a research assistant at the same institution in 2015, was appointed Assistant Professor in 2021, and received the title of Associate Professor in 2025.
His main research interests include orthotic and prosthetic applications, burn and chronic wound rehabilitation, coagulation and fibrinolytic biomarkers, and the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in clinical rehabilitation. In particular, his research focuses on integrating digital technologies into clinical decision-making processes in the fields of orthotics and prosthetics and wound rehabilitation.
He holds editorial roles in the journals Scars, Burns & Healing and Digital Health and maintains international research collaborations with researchers in Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom. He supervises postgraduate theses in the field of orthotics and prosthetics and contributes to the field through scientific publications in national and international peer-reviewed journals.
Senem Demirdel
Assoc. Prof. Senem DEMİRDEL is a faculty member at the Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, University of Health Sciences, Gülhane. She completed her master’s degree in 2012 and her PhD in 2019 in the Prosthetics, Orthotics and Biomechanics Program, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hacettepe University. Her research and project activities focus on prosthetics, orthotics and biomechanics, as well as geriatric rehabilitation. She was awarded the title of Associate Professor in 2024. She is a member of the Turkish Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics and serves as a Section Editor for the Turkish Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics Science.
Hatice Gül
Lect. Dr. Hatice Gül is a faculty member in the Physiotherapy Program at Akdeniz University, Vocational School of Health Services. She graduated from the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation at Kütahya Dumlupınar University in 2007. She completed her master’s degree in the Prosthetics, Orthotics and Biomechanics Program at Hacettepe University in 2012 and received her PhD in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation from Pamukkale University in 2018.
Her research interests include outcome measures in amputee rehabilitation, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), pain, and education in physiotherapy and rehabilitation. She is a member of the Turkish Physiotherapy Association and the Prosthetics and Orthotics Science Association. She also serves as a Section Editor for the Turkish Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics Science.