The research team of the Department of Medical Biology at Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine, consisting of Dr. Ceyda Çolakoğlu Bergel, Doç. Dr. Işıl Ezgi Eryılmaz, Prof. Dr. Gülşah Çeçener, and Prof. Dr. Ünal Egeli, was deemed worthy of the Prof. Dr. Altan Günalp Second Prize Research Award at the XIX Medical Biology and Genetics Congress, held in Bodrum between 27–30 October 2025. This award is recognized as a prestigious distinction that encourages researchers in the field of Medical Biology in Türkiye due to its scientific merit.

The award-winning study entitled “Second-generation BRAF inhibitor Encorafenib resistance is regulated by NCOA4-mediated iron trafficking in the drug-resistant malignant melanoma cells” was published in Scientific Reports, a Q1-ranked journal within the Nature Portfolio group

(doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-86874-3).

The study includes the first-stage findings of Dr. Ceyda Çolakoğlu Bergel’s doctoral thesis and elucidates the mechanism of resistance to the second-generation BRAF inhibitor Encorafenib in malignant melanoma, revealing the central role of NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy and iron metabolism in the resistance process.

The research was funded within the scope of projects supported by the Bursa Uludağ University BAP Unit and conducted under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Ünal Egeli (TPDD-2025-2202, THIZ-2024-1840, TGA-2022-1086), as well as TÜBİTAK 1002 projects (222S648 and 224S586) carried out under the coordination of Dr. Ceyda Çolakoğlu Bergel. In addition, the doctoral thesis study was supported by the TÜBİTAK 2211/A Doctoral Scholarship Program and the YÖK 100/2000 Doctoral Scholarship Program.

We congratulate the entire research team and wish them continued success.