My research focus

We live in a data-driven world, which triggers the way the research in health technology is carried out. This fact results in evolution of digital health technologies which become more and more data-driven, and neglects the way people experience their health data. As an expert researcher of experience design, I work on discovering ways to better understand people’s experiences with (digital health) data (see this paper). Meanwhile, I work on developing tools and research projects to make developments in this field more tangible (see this chapter) and long-lasting (see this paper), and contribute to people’s data sensemaking practices.

Currently, I am interested in the roles of (data) interaction design in health and wellbeing, especially in self-tracking of physical activity and sports. My work combines physiology and psychology with interaction design in understanding and designing meaningful (data) interactions for engagement in physical activity and sports. Recently, I aim to answer the following research questions:

  • What are the current user practices of meaningful (data) interactions in personal health technologies?
  • How can we transform this knowledge to novel personal health technologies?
  • What should be the role of designers in this transformation?

My research experience

  • 2017 - Ongoing | University of Twente, the Netherlands
    has been working as a researcher and consultant in various research projects.
  • 2014 - 2017 | TOBB- ETU, Turkey
    worked as an assistant professor and design researcher in several research projects.
  • 2011 - 2012 | Carnegie Mellon University, USA
    worked as a Fulbright PhD Researcher at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute.
  • 2008 - 2014 | Product Usability Unit (U-TEST), Turkey
    worked as a design researcher in various user experience projects.
  • 2006 - 2013 | Middle East Teachnical University, Turkey
    worked as a research assistant at the Dept. of Industrial Design.

Research Projects

Trust issues in Human-Technology Shared Health Decision-Making

This project aims to understand the extent and limits of human trust in human-technology partnerships during shared health decision-making. As of March 2024, we are recruitting participants for our online experiment and follow-up studies.
Project Funded by Dutch Science Council (NWO)(2023-2024)

Designing for People with Dementia​

This project aimed to help people with dementia engage in social contexts to improve psychosocial wellbeing. I worked in design and evaluation phases of the project.
Project Funded by EU-RISE (2018-2020)

Understanding the Impact of “Path to Sustained Usage” Model in Design Process

This project aimed at transforming the “path to sustained usage” model into a tool that would be used in the idea generation phase of the design process.
Project Funded by TUBITAK-1002 Scheme (2016-2017)

Development of Outdoor Exercise Park Equipment in Relation to Users’ Needs and Expectations

This research aims at exploring the usage patterns and problems of outdoor exercise park equipment, designing new equipment, developing and testing the software platform to work with this equipment.
Project Funded by TUBITAK-1001 Scheme (2015-2019)

Understanding Engaging Experience of Personal Informatics Systems

I conducted a long-term project in which I explored the engaging experience of personal informatics systems. With this project, I finished my PhD.
Individual Funding by Fulbright (2011-2012)

Collaborations

User Experience Research of Food Nutrition Planning

EatMyRide provides personalized nutrition plans to cyclists, based on their fitness levels and abilities. In this collaboration, we work on cylists' nutrition planning practices through EatMyRide app.
EatMyRide (Ongoing)

Design and User Experience of a Companion Robot

This collaboration aimed at designing and producing SciRobot, which is ambitious about designing a social and interactive robot for dementia patients.
SciRobot (2015)

Industry-Funded Research Projects

User Experience and Perceptions of Consumer Goods

I worked as a design researcher in various UTEST-based lab and field research projects, in which we explored the product qualities that affect technology acceptance and behaviour change in smart consumer goods (e.g. dishwasher, washing machine, TV)
Multiple Research projects funded by Arçelik Inc. (2008-2014)

User Preferences in Health Simulation Systems

This research, carried out by UTEST, aimed at understanding the preferences of medical doctors and interns in using medical simulation technology. We developed design guidelines for the further development of the system.
Research funded by Oruba Technology (2011-2012)

Design Guidelines for Graphical User Interface Design for Smart Defence Systems

This research, carried out by UTEST, aimed at developing an interactive database for a military company. In this project, we develop Graphical User Interface design guidelines for the smart defence systems.
Research funded by Aselsan Inc. (2013-2014)