Nilufer received her B.S. and her Ph.D., in Molecular Biology and Genetics from METU, and Bilkent University, respectively, in Turkey. She started her postdoctoral career in Istanbul Medipol University in Turkey and studied hypothalamic circuits in feeding behavior and metabolism. Since October 2018, she works as an assistant research scientist in the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at the University of Iowa. She loves spending time with her sons and likes to draw, travel, hike, and read.