I worked with Burcin at the start of her career and was immediately impressed with her deep knowledge of the neuroscience field. She is brilliant and tenacious but also kind and team-oriented. I have watched as she has tackled complex scientific challenges with skill and passion. Burcin epitomizes a growth-oriented mindset and has been an asset to every organization that she has been a part of.

Michael LaCroix-Fralish, Ph.D. - Clinical Assistant Professor at Marist

Burcin was a great asset to our team in finding, vetting, and managing projects with external contract research organizations. She was also always a pleasure to work with.

Grant Belgard, Ph.D. - Chief Scientist and CEO at The Bioinformatics CRO

I have worked with Dr. Ekanadham in her capacity as an application scientist as part of our work to characterize the research literature of rare diseases. As an expert in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Dr. Ekanadham provided both strategic support for our technical work and detailed low-level scientific insight into the intricacies of ALS research. I personally found Burcin a delight to work with in our technical collaboration - she is proactive, asks deep questions, and is scientifically generous in her effort. As a fellow team member in the broader Rare as One program at CZI, I witnessed her support the overall program with the same energy, integrity, and leadership. I'm thrilled to hear about her new venture with EcoNeuro. I'm sure that it will break ground and create new opportunities that will have an impact on the fields that it touches.

Gully Burns, Ph.D. - Research Scientist at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

I had the pleasure of working with Burcin at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative over multiple years, and she was a valuable asset to our team. Burcin's background in neurodegenerative disease gave her a unique perspective that was incredibly useful in product development. She not only possessed a deep understanding of the science behind our work, but she was also skilled at applying her insights as a scientist to real-world applications. Burcin was an excellent writer who consistently produced high-quality work, and she was highly dependable, able to adapt to different tasks and always willing to take on new challenges.

Michael Czerwinski, Ph.D. - Senior Data Scientist at Tune Therapeutics

Burcin and I have worked together on a variety of projects in the past few years. Over these years, her collaborative spirit and breadth of knowledge have helped our teams immensely. When I first met Burcin, she was a product application specialist for our scientific literature database, and she helped us grow and maintain our audience. As a data scientist, she is a key contributor to our current project of coordinating data in the rare disease space. Burcin is also a gifted storyteller, one who provides ample scientific knowledge along with empathy for the subject matter—I always look forward to reading her pieces.

Jennifer Minnick - Product Support Specialist at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Burcin is not only a talented scientist, she is also an exceptional mentor. I had the pleasure of working with Burcin while she was a postdoctoral scientist at Regeneron. Her thoughtful and rigorous approach to science was evident to everyone on the team. Burcin brings an enthusiasm and passion for neuroscience that is contagious to those working around her. She has the ability to listen carefully, think critically and troubleshoot complex scientific questions with ease. I look forward to when our career paths cross again!

Madelyn McCauley, Ph.D. - Senior Scientist at Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Ikiz supported our genomics data analysis/drug discovery research at RowAnalytics as a consultant. Her expert knowledge of neurodegenerative diseases was incredibly valuable to us since she was able to explain our findings in the proper disease context. She was instrumental in helping us gain broader support from various neurodegenerative disease research organizations.

Serdar Uckun, Ph.D. - Founder and CTO at Novity

I had the pleasure of collaborating with Burcin while we overlapped at CZI’s Rare As One Program. She brings an energy and ease to every encounter, and is a "serious" scientist without any intimidation or ego. Throughout our work together, Burcin has been a willing listener, a creative brainstorm-er, and an informed contributor. I very much look forward to future opportunities to work together!

Juliane Mills - Science Consultant at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative