10/01/2026
As an academic CEO and Chief Scientific Officer at Fark Labs, Prof. Dr. Özge Akbulut continues to work with the goal of "improving human life and the environment through science and technology," offering invaluable services for the benefit of society through the strong bridge she has built between academia and the business world. She is also the recipient of the 2025 Sabancı University Awards in Arts and Sciences in the Societal Impact category.
After completing her undergraduate education in Materials Science and Engineering at Sabancı University in 2004, Prof. Dr. Akbulut continued her education in the USA. We spoke with her about her journey in academia and business life.
‘We were founding a university’
Prof Dr. Akbulut began the conversation by referring to Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey,” a work by the famous American mythology expert. “Everyone is the hero of their own story, and their plot has a beginning; I always wonder where mine began,” said Akbulut, who believes the info booklet sent by Sabancı University to successful high school students right after the university entrance exam was a “call-to-adventure” for her. This booklet was followed by a personal letter from Tosun Terzioğlu, the founding president of Sabancı University. The dream of being a part of Sabancı University, which aimed to establish a new university by “creating and developing together” and to give its students the title of “founding” on this journey, excited her greatly. Being one of the “brave children,” as Güler Sabancı put it, of a university under construction, and this sense of duty, formed the basis of Prof. Dr. Akbulut’s decisions in both her academic and business careers.
The theme of "returning home" in Campbell's narrative is also an important motif for Akbulut. She says that her decision to return after spending 8 years in the US was conscious, and continues, "I always knew that I would return to Sabancı University and become not only an academic but also a serial entrepreneur."
The Influence of Prof. Whitesides
She explains that Professor George M. Whitesides of Harvard University had a significant impact on her approach to science: “Prof. Whitesides is one of the world’s most cited chemists; he was once an Institute Professor and wholeheartedly believes that the true impact of science and technology comes from translating research into tangible products. When he interviewed me for a postdoctoral position in 2008, he asked me if I wanted to be rich. His advice was: 'I don’t care what you do with your money, you can donate it all if you want, but you have to create it. Making money —in other words, people paying for what you invent— is the most important indicator of success as an engineer… There are two ways you can’t create wealth: either you work on a problem that nobody cares about, or you come up with a bad solution to a significant problem; wealth is only created by offering a good solution to a significant problem.”
A Significant Problem, a Good Solution
A new door opened for Prof. Dr. Akbulut in 2013 when she met thoracic surgeon Dr. Barkın Eldem. Dr. Eldem asked if the Turkish Senology Academy (SENATÜRK) could create breast simulators so that instructors could provide practical training to young surgeons who wanted to specialize in breast-conserving surgery (oncoplasty). The problem he described—the lack of accessible, cost-effective, and realistic training materials for surgical education—deeply impressed Dr. Akbulut. Together with the surgeons at SENATÜRK, Surgitate designed the breast model that is now widely accepted worldwide.
Prof. Dr. Akbulut explains why we need better-trained surgeons: “According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 12 women will encounter breast cancer during their lifetime (WHO, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer). Women's ability to return to their pre-cancer lives depends on the medical and aesthetic success of the surgery they undergo. Women who are dissatisfied with their bodies after surgery may discontinue treatment (chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) and follow-up appointments (Michigan Breast Reconstruction Outcome Study, June 2020). Breast-conserving surgeries are known to reduce costs and partially lessen the trauma of surgery.”
So what is the solution? According to Prof. Dr. Akbulut, the solution is: “Ultimately, physicians undergoing surgical training are obliged to learn and practice surgery on the patients they are committed to caring for. There is a need for an accessible, cost-effective, and realistic training platform.”
The Establishment of Surgitate
Prof. Dr. Akbulut founded Surgitate in 2014 to produce the silicone-based composite synthetic breast she designed in Sabancı laboratories. During this phase, she received support from Sabancı University, Arya Women's Investment Platform, and Farplas Group. Thus, Surgitate succeeded in initiating a new era in oncoplastic surgery training.
Today, Surgitate's breast model is considered the gold standard globally. Surgitate has 75% of the breast model market and touches the lives of 50,000 women worldwide every year.
Prof. Dr. Akbulut emphasizes that the support of Ahu Serter, Chair of Fark Holding, founder of ARYA Women's Investment Platform and Fark Labs, and İnovent, Türkiye's first technology commercialization/accelerator and seed fund company established by Sabancı University, played a significant role in the success of this initiative.
Today, work is underway on a partnership between Surgitate, Sirius Medical, and SENATÜRK to make better medical technologies more accessible in Turkey.
Today, Surgitate, Sirius Medical, and SENATÜRK are collaborating to make better medical technologies more accessible in Türkiye.
Societal Impact
Prof. Dr. Akbulut and her team designed a panel featuring a tactile breast model with masses simulating malignant tumor formations, as part of their awareness campaigns titled "I Am Responsible for Myself" and "There Is a Solution." The panel also provides information on how to perform self-examinations. Corporate firms were persuaded to place this panel in women's restrooms; the aim was to encourage women to continue their routine checkups.
The "There Is a Solution" campaign, with the support of Sabancı University CoSpace, was designed to feature the breast model on a much smaller panel made of plexiglass, and self-examination instructions were added to a QR code.
Prof. Dr. Özge Akbulut
Prof. Dr. Akbulut has been a faculty member at Sabancı University since 2012. She completed her undergraduate studies in Materials Science and Engineering at Sabancı University in 2004. She received her PhD in the same field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), focusing on cost-efficient fabrication of biomolecular devices and surface science (2009). She continued her postdoctoral studies in the Whitesides Group at Harvard University, developing tools and techniques for resource-limited settings (2009–2011). Prof. Dr. Akbulut's main areas of research are colloidal science and additive/subtractive manufacturing of ceramics. She is also the co-founder of Surgitate, a company that produces tactile surgical training platforms. She also serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at Fark Labs, a startup and investment center.
