Education and Employment

• 2007-present: Associate Professor (UHD), Department of Linguistics, Center for Language Studies (CLS), Radboud University Nijmegen,
  

     PI of VIDI grant supported by Dutch Science Foundation

     PI of European Research Council Starting Grant

• 2003-2007: Post-doctoral Researcher, FC Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen

• 2000-2003: Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey

• 2000: Joint Ph.D. in Psychology (Developmental) and Linguistics, The University of Chicago (with Honors)

     Advisor: Prof. David McNeill

• 1997-2000: Visiting Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen

• 1994: M.A. in Psychology (Developmental), The University of Chicago

• 1991: B.A. in Psychology, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey (with Honors)

Other Academic Affiliations

• Research associate at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics

• Research associate at the Department of Psychology, Koç University, Istanbul

Grants & Awards

• European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (PI)
  Language in our hand: The role of modality in shaping development of spatial language in deaf and hearing children
  Time period: 2010-2015 (1,2 million Euros)

• VIDI Grant, Dutch Science Foundation (PI)
  Title: Role of modality in shaping sign language structure
  Time period: 2007-2012 (600,000 Euros)

• Dutch Science Foundation ASPASIA award
  Time period: 2007-2012 (100,000 Euros)

• Turkish Academy of Sciences, Young Scientist Award (TUBA-GEBIP)
  Time period: 2001-2004 (30,000 $)

• US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Major Grant (co-PI)
  Title: The development of spontaneous gesture systems in deaf children (continuation)
  Time period: 2006-2011 (250,000 $)
  In collaboration with: Prof. Susan Goldin-Meadow

• US National Institutes of Health (NIH), Major Grant (co-PI)
  Title: The development of spontaneous gesture systems in deaf children in four cultures
  Time period: 2000-2005 (250,000 $)
  In collaboration with: Prof. Susan Goldin-Meadow

• US National Science Foundation (NSF). Major Grant (co-PI)
  Linguistics Program and Child Learning and Development Program
  Title: A crosslinguistic developmental study of spatial thinking and speaking: What do spontaneous gestures reveal?
  Time period: 2000-2003 (35,000 $)
  In collaboration with: Dr. Shanley Allen & Dr. Sotaro Kita

• Fellowship for the promotion of scientific cooperation
  Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Netherlands
  Time period: summer 2001

• Visiting Fellowship
  Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Netherlands
  Time period: 1997-2000

• Irving Harris Developmental Psychology Grant, University of Chicago
  Time period: 1996-1997

• John Dewey Lectureship award, University of Chicago, 1996
  
  

Ad-hoc Reviewing

Journals: Brain and Language ; Brain Research ; Cerebral Cortex ; Cognition ; Developmental Psychology ; Gesture ; Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics ; Journal of Bilingualism and Cognition ; Journal of Child Language ; Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ; Journal of Cognitive Science ; Journal of Experimental Psychology: General ; Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning and Memory ; Journal of Language and Development ; Journal of Memory and Language ; Language and Cognitive Processes ; Linguistics ; Psychological Science

Funding Agency: National Science Foundation, USA ; Endangered Languages Documentation Program, SOAS, UK ; ESRC, UK

Academic Service

Present: Coordinator of Nijmegen Gesture Center

2000-2007: General Secretary of International Society of Gesture Studies

Editorial Board: Journal GESTURE

Review Editorial Board: Frontiers in Language Sciences

Academic Standing

Web of Science: Times cited: 262 h-index=7