İTÜ E-Bülten

ITU Informatics Institute Shapes National Vision for Digital Agriculture

Held on April 28–30, 2025, the 4th Agriculture and Forestry Council—organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry—focused on shaping the future of Türkiye’s agricultural and forestry policies. Representing Istanbul Technical University, Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Karaçuha, Director of the ITU Informatics Institute, chaired the commission on “Digital Transformation in Agriculture, Data-Driven Farming, and Technological Development.” Lecturer Dr. Ayda Aktaş also actively contributed. Their work outlined seven strategic goals and proposed a roadmap for advancing digital ecosystems through AI, IoT, education, data infrastructure, and indigenous technologies.

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ITU Informatics Institute Co-Organizes National Cybersecurity Conference in Ankara

The 18th International Conference on Information Security and Cryptology (ISCTURKEY 2025), co-supported by ITU Informatics Institute, was held on October 22–23, 2025, in Ankara. Recognized as one of the most important national events in the field of information security, the conference brought together academics, public institutions, and industry stakeholders to share scientific and technological developments. The event promoted public awareness, interdisciplinary education, and strategic collaborations across sectors.

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TÜBİTAK 1001 Funding Awarded

The Computational Modeling and Simulation Laboratory has been awarded a TÜBİTAK 1001 research grant for the project titled “Hemodynamic Simulation of Supra Left Ventricular Heart Blood Flow Coupled with Coronary Arteries” (Project No: 124M416), officially launched on February 20, 2025. Supervised by our faculty member Prof. Dr. Mustafa Serdar Çelebi, the project focuses on developing computational models to simulate and analyze blood flow dynamics supra left ventricle and throughout the coronary arteries of the human heart, while also investigating key cardiovascular conditions through the integration of VR/XR-based immersive technologies and 3D bioprinting.
Within the scope of the project and ongoing research in biomechanics and computational cardiology, the laboratory is formally collaborating with the Istanbul University Institute of Cardiology under the clinical consultancy of Assoc. Prof. Şükrü Arslan.
As part of the TÜBİTAK 1001-funded project, the team has also welcomed an undergraduate student through the TÜBİTAK 2247-C STAR Intern Researcher Scholarship Program.

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ITU Researcher Develops In Silico Drug Discovery Projects for Leukemia, Alzheimer’s, and Cardiovascular Diseases

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vildan Enisoğlu Atalay from ITU Informatics Institute is leading a series of cutting-edge research projects using in silico modeling and machine learning techniques to accelerate drug discovery in critical disease areas.

- The first project, funded by TÜBİTAK 1002, aims to develop novel drug candidates targeting resistance mechanisms in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), particularly focusing on dual-site inhibition of ABL1 through both ATP and allosteric binding pockets. The study will explore enhanced derivatives of current tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and their oral absorption profiles.

- A second project investigates the potential of antioxidant molecules for treating Alzheimer’s disease through acetylcholinesterase inhibition. This research combines molecular docking simulations with machine learning models trained on known antioxidant structures. It aims to identify new candidates from the ZINC15 database with superior binding affinity compared to FDA-approved drugs such as donepezil and galantamine.

- Finally, a TÜBİTAK 2209-A project under her supervision focuses on repurposing FDA-approved orphan drugs for cardiovascular diseases. Conducted by undergraduate researcher Sefa Mert Güney, the study explores shared mechanisms and pathways among existing drugs to suggest cost-effective, fast-track treatment alternatives.

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Representation at IEEE Global Chapters Summit 2025

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Melih Gül attended the IEEE Computer Society Global Chapters Summit 2025 in Tokyo, Japan, serving as the Vice-Chair of the Geographical Activities Committee (GAC). In this role, he helps coordinate more than 1,000 professional and student chapters globally under the IEEE Computer Society—the world’s largest organization in computing.

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Participation in IEEE Region 8 Committee Meeting in Budapest

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Melih Gül participated in the 2025 IEEE Region 8 Committee Meeting, held in Budapest on April 3–6, 2025, as a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. IEEE Region 8 covers Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and plays a key role in shaping the regional vision and development strategies of the global IEEE community.

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TÜBİTAK-Funded Sabbatical Research on Sustainable Data Center Energy Systems at RWTH Aachen

Dr. Hamza Salih Erden has received a TÜBİTAK 2219 International Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct sabbatical research at RWTH Aachen University. His project focuses on the optimal design and operation of energy infrastructure in data centers, contributing to more cost-effective and low-carbon digital systems.

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TÜBİTAK Supports Project on Fully Automated Chromosome Analysis System

A new project titled "TOKAS – Fully Automated Chromosome Analysis System for Cytogenetic Diagnostics", led by Dr. Abdulkerim Çapar, has been approved for funding under the TÜBİTAK TEYDEB 1501 Industrial R&D Support Program. The 24-month project aims to develop a fully automated platform for cytogenetic diagnosis using advanced image processing and artificial intelligence technologies. The system is expected to revolutionize conventional cytogenetic workflows by increasing speed, accuracy, and standardization in chromosome analysis.

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Recent Research in the Computational Modeling and Simulation Laboratory

The Computational Modeling and Simulation Laboratory, led by our faculty member Prof. Dr. Mustafa Serdar Çelebi, was originally founded in 1999 and is situated within the Computational Science and Engineering Program at Istanbul Technical University's Informatics Institute. The lab is dedicated to advancing research in computational fluid dynamics, cardiovascular biomechanics and high-performance computing, while benefiting from collaborations with esteemed institutions such as TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye), ITU National Center for High Performance Computing (UHeM), ITU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Istanbul University Institute of Cardiology, and Marmara University Center for Nanotechnology & Biomaterials Application and Research (NBUAM).
Lab members actively contribute to the field through participation in international conferences, reflecting the laboratory’s commitment to cutting-edge research and scientific dissemination. Müge Yaren Yaşartürk, a PhD student in the Computational Science and Engineering Program, presented her paper titled “A New Holistic Approach for Prosthesis Polymeric Aortic Valve Design” at EuroSimE 2025: 26th International Conference on Thermal, Mechanical and Multi-Physics Simulation and Experiments in Microelectronics and Microsystems, held in Utrecht, Netherlands. Similarly, Emirhan Yiğit, a MSc student in the same program, presented his paper titled “FEM Analysis of Venous Valve Using Time-Dependent and Spatially-Varying Pressure Distributions Obtained from FSI Simulations” at the 39th ECMS International Conference on Modelling and Simulation, held in Catania, Italy

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Summer School and Internship Program for Undergraduate Students

The Computational Modeling and Simulation Laboratory led by our faculty member Prof. Dr. Mustafa Serdar Çelebi, has launched a ten-week project-based summer school and internship program for undergraduate students as part of its TÜBİTAK 1001-funded cardiovascular research. Four talented students have been accepted into the program, where they will gain early-stage research experience in computational science by engaging with advanced simulation techniques and VR-based clinical applications.

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ITU Signs MoU with Konkuk University and Initiates EU Horizon Project Collaboration

On January 14, 2025, Prof. Heung-Seok Jeon from the Glocal Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Konkuk University visited the ITU Informatics Institute. During this visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between ITU and Konkuk University to promote long-term academic and research collaboration. Representing ITU, Assoc. Prof. Gülcihan Özdemir took part in the signing ceremony and discussions. As a first step in the partnership, both institutions agreed to jointly prepare a proposal for the EU Horizon program, aiming to foster innovation through international cooperation.

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ITU Students Visit Neuroprosthetics Lab to Observe Data Collection in Practice

On May 8, 2025, we visited the Neuroprosthetics and Sensorimotor Research Laboratory at Istanbul Medipol University, hosted by Asst. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kocatürk, together with students from our Computational Neuroscience course who wanted to observe how some of the datasets used in the course were collected.

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ITU Academic Performance Awards

As part of the 2024 ITU Academic Performance Awards, several faculty members and research assistants from the ITU Informatics Institute were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements. The awards were presented by ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal during the official ceremony held on June 4, 2025.
Among the award recipients were Prof. Dr. Adem Tekin, Prof. Dr. Vasıl Tabatadze, Prof. Dr. Lütfiye Durak Ata, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Melih Gül, Research Assistant Cem Oran, and Research Assistant Dr. Emre İşcen, who were honored for their exceptional research productivity and scholarly contributions.

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Publications in 2025.1

In the first half of 2025, the Informatics Institute published 25 peer-reviewed articles, showcasing its multidisciplinary research capacity. The publications cover a wide spectrum of fields, including computational materials science, electromagnetic field analysis, 6G and edge computing, cryptography, blockchain-enabled communication, IoT and smart systems, computational neuroscience, biomedical informatics, computational chemistry and biology, drug discovery for malaria and COVID-19, energy-efficient data center design, sentiment analysis, customer segmentation, and computational biomechanics.
This diverse output reflects the institute’s strong commitment to advancing research at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, and intelligent systems.

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