Postdoc Portrait: Duygu Islek Yaras Research Social Drivers of Illness and Well being Inequality

Duygu Islek Yaras studies population-level data to inform inclusive and accessible policies in the clinic.

Duygu Islek Yaras is a postdoctoral researcher at Emory University. She studies how social and structural factors influence heart disease and HIV prevention. In this Postdoc Portrait, she shares her journey from public hospitals to global research centers to help people lead healthier lives.

Q | How did you first get interested in research?

My path into research began in the hospital wards of Turkey, where I worked as a young physician in emergency and primary care clinics. I was struck by how the same diseases kept coming in—heart attacks, diabetes, infections—not because of poor medicine, but because of deeper social and economic inequalities. I realized that understanding health required looking beyond the bedside to the systems shaping people’s lives.

That realization led me to pursue public health and epidemiology, where I could merge my clinical background with data and policy. Through international training, I learned how population-level research can uncover patterns invisible in individual patients. Each project, from modeling food policy impacts in Turkey to studying HIV prevention in the United States, strengthened my belief that science is most powerful when it connects evidence with action to build healthier, fairer societies.

Q | Tell us about your favorite research project you’re working on.

One of my favorite projects focuses on expanding HIV prevention among transgender women in the US. Despite remarkable progress in HIV medicine, many groups still face unequal access to preventive care. Our team at Emory University is working to understand what drives or hinders the use of preventive medication called PrEP, and how we can make these services more inclusive and effective.

What I find most meaningful is that this project blends data analysis with lived experience. We collect nationwide survey data but also listen closely to the voices behind the numbers—how stigma, safety, or simple clinic access shape real decisions. Translating those insights into public health strategies feels like closing the gap between research and human reality. It’s science with empathy, and it reminds me every day that evidence can drive equity when we center the people our research is meant to serve.

Q | What has been the most exciting part of your scientific journey so far?

The most exciting part has been realizing how far curiosity and persistence can take you, especially when you start with very little. As a first-generation college graduate from Turkey, I funded every step of my education through scholarships and fellowships. Each milestone felt like proof that science truly has no borders.

Working at places like Harvard University, the University of Liverpool, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and now Emory University has shown me how collaboration across countries and disciplines can turn ideas into action. One highlight was leading a project that used national data to uncover racial differences in heart disease outcomes. Seeing that work cited in policy discussions was deeply rewarding.

But what excites me most is mentoring younger scientists, especially women from underrepresented backgrounds. Watching them gain confidence and find their voices reminds me that the most meaningful discoveries in science are often human ones.

Q | If you could be a laboratory instrument, which one would you be and why?

I’d be a microscope. It may seem like an obvious choice for a scientist, but the microscope represents curiosity with purpose—the ability to focus on what’s overlooked and reveal what truly matters. In epidemiology, we don’t examine cells or tissues, but we do something similar: we magnify invisible patterns in populations to understand why some communities bear a heavier burden of disease than others.

A microscope also teaches humility. It reminds you that small things can have enormous impact, and that seeing clearly often requires adjusting your focus. My career has followed that same lesson, from observing patients one by one as a physician in Turkey to studying millions of lives through data at Emory University and the CDC. Whether in medicine or public health, I’ve learned that real insight often begins with looking closer and caring enough to see.

Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

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