Duygu Sag is a Turkish immunologist who contributed to the understanding of the human immune system's fight against cancer.[1] She was the recipient of the 2018 “L'Oreal UNESCO International Rising Talent Award”, which is one of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Sag's research centers on harnessing the immune system's potential to combat cancer by targeting specific tumor-associated macrophages.[2] Her team identified that macrophages lacking the cholesterol transporter ABCG1 exhibit a transformative shift, becoming potent tumor-fighting agents and impeding bladder cancer progression in preclinical studies.[2] The eventual goal is elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying this critical macrophage switch, with the potential to pave the way for innovative immunotherapeutic approaches in cancer treatment.[2]
Sag completed her undergraduate studies in Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.[3] She completed her doctoral studies in the United States at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Between 2009 and 2015, was a postdoctoral fellow at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology located in San Diego, California, USA.[6] Then she returned to Turkey, becoming a faculty member at Izmir Biomedicine and Genome Center within Dokuz Eylul University.[3] The cancer-related deaths in her immediate family motivated her to become a cancer researcher.[3]