Asst. Prof. Urartu Şeker, a faculty member in the National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) at Bilkent University, has received an award from TÜBA (the Turkish Academy of Sciences) for the work of his research team in developing a rapid method for detecting the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
TÜBA Special Awards for Combating the COVID-19 Global Epidemic are being given to encourage, support and honor scientists who have produced outstanding research focused on developing original methods and products for use in all stages, from diagnosis to treatment, of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Şeker received first prize in the area of diagnosis for his work in developing an RNA switch system for SARS-COV-2 detection.
Dr. Şeker and his team used synthetic biology and advanced genetic engineering methods to develop a device with the ability to quickly detect SARS-COV-2, allowing a diagnosis of COVID-19 to be made approximately 40 to 45 minutes after a sample taken from a patient is placed in the device.
Dr. Şeker’s project was supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) under the terms of the 6550 Research Infrastructure Support Law.