Dr. Abalı was born in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). After she graduated from high school, she received Fullbright scholarship to study biochemistry in the USA. That marked a big change in her life. After leaving TRNC, she started her undergraduate studies at the University of South Western Louisiana in La Fayette, Louisiana. Because of her hard work she received other scholarships and completed her masters in biochemistry (at the same institute), and her Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology (at the Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences). One of her research areas is "how patients developed drug resistance against chemotherapic agents," especially methotrexate (MTX) which is used for various cancers.

Her post doctoral studies were at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Research Center, and Columbia University of New York.

When Dr. Abalı decided to come to Turkey, she chose Bilkent University because she says, "Bilkent offers good opportunities to researchers for their academic research."

She is a mother of a two year old daughter, and enjoys spending time with her and watch her grow up. Her husband, who is currently working for IBM in New York, is planning to join the family in a short while.

Currently, Dr. Abalı is teaching biology to engineering students. Sometimes, the students ask her why they should study biology. Dr. Abalı says, "In my classes, I try to provide information on up-to-date issues so that when the students read or discuss a subject such as "gene-therapy", they will have no difficulty in voicing their opinions."