L'Oréal Türkiye Continues to Support Women in Science

Continuing its projects in line with the approach that the world needs science and science needs women, L'Oréal Turkey has been running the "For Women in Science" Program in collaboration with UNESCO Turkey National Commission for 23 years.

Throughout the program's continuous and long-standing journey, the achievements of 128 women directing science in Turkey have been recognized, thereby creating inspiring role models for new generations in science. Within the scope of the program launched to support gender equality in science, make the achievements of women scientists visible, and inspire new generations, Dr. Duygu Kuzuoğlu Öztürk from Sabancı University was deemed worthy of an award for her innovative project targeting castration-resistant prostate cancer.

At the "For Women in Science" Program, which recognizes the achievements of young and talented women scientists under 40 years of age and is one of Turkey's longest-running corporate social responsibility programs, four women scientists who won awards this year were introduced to the public at a ceremony hosted by L'Oréal Turkey. Dr. Duygu Kuzuoğlu Öztürk drew attention with her work that opens new approaches to the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer, the most aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Targeting treatment-resistant prostate cancer through protein synthesis
Prostate cancer ranks among the most common cancer types in men worldwide, and in a significant portion of patients, resistance to applied treatments develops over time. Dr. Kuzuoğlu Öztürk's project aims to examine the process through which genetic information is converted into proteins in castration-resistant prostate cancer, thereby reducing the levels of molecules causing the disease. This approach has the potential to establish a scientific foundation for developing alternative treatment strategies for patients who have developed resistance to current therapies. Regarding her research, Dr. Duygu Kuzuoğlu Öztürk states: "This study aims to better understand the proteins causing prostate cancer in cases where resistance to current treatments has developed, and to establish a foundation for new therapies targeting these proteins."

International scientific experience brought to Turkey
The L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Program has a legacy of supporting women who have changed the course of science globally; to date, 7 of the women scientists who have been honored have won the Nobel Prize. Turkey takes pride in being one of the top five countries contributing most to this program among more than 140 countries. Having developed an interest in biology at Saint-Joseph French High School, Kuzuoğlu Öztürk completed her undergraduate education at Istanbul Technical University's Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. The scientist continued her graduate studies at Sabancı University and was accepted to the Max Planck Institute in Tübingen, Germany, for her doctoral work, where she studied RNA biology. Subsequently, she conducted research on protein synthesis in prostate cancer cells at the University of California San Francisco and was supported by numerous international funding bodies.

With the belief that world-standard science can be conducted in Turkey, Dr. Kuzuoğlu Öztürk joined Sabancı University as a faculty member in January 2025 and continues her work with young researchers in the laboratory she established. L'Oréal Turkey, believing in the transformative power of science and the indispensable role of women in this field, will continue its determined commitment to supporting scientific breakthroughs that will shape the future.