Hamza Balci

Prof. Hamza Balci obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Koc University, Istanbul-Turkey and a PhD in Physics from the University of Maryland, College Park. After completing a postdoctoral training at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, he joined Kent State University in 2009 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to associate professor and professor in 2015 and 2020, respectively. He served as the Undergraduate Coordinator between 2020-2024 and has been serving as a curriculum advisor since 2013. More details about his biography, teaching, and service activities can be found at his curriculum vitae.

Prof. Balci is an experimental biophysicist. In addition to common biochemical and biophysical methods, his laboratory uses high resolution fluorescence microscopy methods to study DNA, protein and small molecule interactions at single molecule resolution. The protection and maintenance of telomeric DNA and gene expression regulation uses CRISPR technology are the currently active research areas in his lab. Through collaborations within KSU, Balci lab is also actively investigating liquid crystal phases formed by "gapped" DNA constructs. His research has been supported by NIH and NSF. For more details about his research efforts, please visit Prof. Balci's Google Scholar profile or his group website.