Dr. Ozdinler, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Neurology and received training in the fields of molecular biology and genetics (BS- Bogazici University), biotechnology and chemical engineering (MS-Bogazici University), and earned PhD in the fields of cell biology, anatomy, and neuroscience (LSU Health Sciences Center). She then joined the Neurosurgery Department at MGH (postdoctoral fellow- Harvard Medical School), and received the Harvard NeuroDiscovery fellowship (HCNR). She became the founding director of the second Les Turner ALS Laboratory at Northwestern, which focuses on the biology and pathology of upper motor neurons (UMNs). She is the recipient of NUCATS Translational Innovation and CLP Cornew Innovation awards.  Her research is focused on the improvement of the health of diseased UMNs and identification of biomarkers that inform on the timing and extent of UMN loss.  She is also a faculty member of the Chemistry Life Sciences Processes Institute, Les Turner ALS Center, Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Research Center. She is the Scientific Director of A Long Swim, and her research is funded by NIH, NIA, and numerous foundations.