The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as professionals, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and beyond.
Gozde Basara has never shied away from learning something new. From starting a Ph.D. in 3D Bioprinting as a mechanical engineer with no advanced knowledge of biology to taking on new artistic endeavors like crocheting, watercolor painting, and singing, she doesn’t back down from a challenge. The latest one? Developing a technology to help cancer survivors safely feel whole again following mastectomies. As part of the ReConstruct team, she’s refining a way to make vascularized tissue from a patient’s cells for safer reconstruction surgeries. Learn more about Gozde and her work in this month’s Humans of the Wyss.
What are you working on?
As part of the ReConstruct Project, we are working on creating a vascularized breast tissue using the patient’s own cells. To do this, we use a special bioprinting method called sacrificial writing in functional tissue (SWIFT), which allows us to engineer fat tissue with blood vessels that can easily be integrated into a patient’s body.
Recently, I’ve also started working with cellular “backpacks.” These are disc-shaped nanoparticles that attach to immune cells without being engulfed to keep their hosts activated against disease.
What real-world problem does this solve?
Imagine getting diagnosed with breast cancer, going through the difficult process of getting a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. In the end you just want to feel like yourself again, but unfortunately your options are very limited.
The most common methods for reconstruction following a mastectomy are silicone implants or tissue flap surgery, which typically uses the patient’s abdominal tissue for the implant, though sometimes the tissue comes from another part of the body. With the first option, patients report many issues such as discomfort and swelling. For the latter option, not everyone has adequate tissue at the donor site, and even if they do, they face a long recovery time and potential surgical complications.
Because this problem isn’t seen as life-threatening, patients feel their voices are not being heard. I know that ReConstruct would be incredibly emotionally healing for them, and I want to continue to develop this effective solution.
Additionally, more women are getting genetic tests to find out if they have a higher risk of getting breast cancer. If they do, many want to eliminate the risk by getting a preventative mastectomy, but they are hesitant to go through with it given the available surgical reconstruction options.
Since ReConstruct uses a patient’s own cells to create tissue rather than artificial materials, and does not require extracting a large amount of existing tissue, there are fewer surgical risks. We aim to help cancer survivors feel whole again.
What inspired you to get into this field?
My path to 3D printing involves some luck. I initially trained as a mechanical engineer – both of my parents were mechanical engineers and all three of us graduated from the same university and the same department, in different years of course. Some of their professors taught me as well.
During my undergraduate studies, I really enjoyed heat transfer, so I thought I would do something related to that, like working on HVAC systems. For my master’s degree, I planned to work with solar panels, but then my advisor had a project proposal accepted related to 3D printing. I really enjoyed it!
I decided to search for Ph.D. positions in the United States, initially intending to return home to Turkey to become a professor at my English-language university. Most of the funding was in bioengineering, so I decided to try to transfer my 3D printing knowledge to 3D bioprinting. Since I don’t have a background in biology, I told myself if it was too difficult, I could always go back.
During my Ph.D. studies, I realized that while I loved research, I wanted my work to impact patients’ lives in a shorter time frame. I wanted to be part of the bridge between academia and industry, but I wasn’t sure how to do that. When I saw the job posting at the Wyss, I thought it was a great match.
What continues to motivate you?
Hearing stories from the patients! My supervisor, Luba Perry, talks with patients all the time and says they are so eager to have a better solution. Because this problem isn’t seen as life-threatening, they feel their voices are not being heard. I know that ReConstruct would be incredibly emotionally healing for them, and I want to continue to develop this effective solution.
What part of your work excites you the most?
It’s a bit nerdy, but I am a very organized person. Prior to an experiment, I love creating a detailed step-by-step plan, making every solution I need, doing the math for the concentrations, labeling the tubes, and being as prepared as I can be. Experiments usually take way longer to plan than to execute, so when it’s time to begin, I’m very excited.
Also, learning new techniques and information excites me. I love finding a creative solution to something with the resources I have in hand.
What are some of the challenges that you face?
Many times, things don’t go according to plan, you don’t get the expected result, and you don’t know what went wrong. It can be frustrating. When that happens, you need to step back and try to identify your problem and figure out whether it is solvable or not.
Plus, because I am a mechanical engineer by training, I had challenges with the biology portion of things.
Why did you want to work at the Wyss?
The Wyss is such a unique place that helps accelerate projects that come out of the most brilliant minds in academia so that the technologies can reach patients quickly. This was exactly what I wanted to do. It is a privilege to work with all these accomplished people whose papers I read and followed from afar as if they were rock stars during my Ph.D.
What is unique about the Wyss, and how has that impacted your work?
It is great to be surrounded by people who are experts in so many diverse fields and thus bring their perspectives to the picture. Everyone at the Wyss, whether they are a researcher or not, is so helpful and willing to lend a hand. From the machine shop personnel to the maker space, from the Facilities Team to the Purchasing Team, everyone is so supportive.
I realized that while I loved research, I wanted my work to impact patients’ lives in a shorter time frame. I wanted to be part of the bridge between academia and industry.
The conversations I have with my colleagues make me want to improve myself, and the questions they ask help me see things from a different perspective. That’s what makes progress happen.
In addition to your work in the lab, you’re part of a number of community groups at the Wyss. What made you want to get so involved?
I joined the Wyss just over a year ago. My team is a great, small group, but I wanted to get to know more people. Initially, that’s why I joined groups like the Green Team, the book club, and the travel club. As I became more involved in the Green Team, for example, I realized that I could be part of addressing real problems and making the Wyss the best it can be. Everyone on the Green Team is volunteering, so they are there by choice, and they are all so dedicated. When you’re surrounded by those kinds of people, it makes you want to do even more.
How have your previous experiences shaped your approach to your work today?
I am a mechanical engineer by training and did my Ph.D. on cardiac tissue bioprinting, which gives me a different perspective. I evaluate situations looking more at the fabrication portion of the work. Also, learning the biology humbled me and made me realize that life is so incredibly complicated, and how far we are from mimicking what Nature does so effortlessly.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I love musicals. I always catch a couple each year and listen to their music on Spotify. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but if I did it would be Legally Blonde.
1/4 Gozde crocheted this elephant which she calls Fil, the word for elephant in Turkish. Credit: Gozde Basara 
2/4 Gozde poses in the lab where she got her Ph.D. Credit: Gozde Basara 
3/4 Gozde recently took an online watercolor painting class. Credit: Gozde Basara 
4/4 Gozde enjoys seeing musicals in her free time. Credit: Gozde Basara
I also like doing artsy things. I found a random crocheting class where I live and attended to learn how to crochet with bunch of older ladies. I took online watercolor painting classes just for fun. I also love singing and taking online vocal lessons.
What is something fun about you that someone wouldn’t know from your resume?
I decided to be a mechanical engineer when I was a freshman in high school because I loved watching Formula 1 races. With time, I realized that the speed was not the part I cared about, but I was curious how the cars worked. How can they turn with such high speeds? What causes drivers to lose control of the back of the car? How does an F1 engine work? So, I wanted to design those cars. I was part of a motorsports club in college and worked as a marshal in various races including World Rally Championship and Formula 1.
If you had to choose an entirely different career path, what would it be?
I am really interested in languages. I am curious about the roots of words, which languages come from the same family, et cetera. I speak my native language, Turkish, and English. I used to be really good at German, but when you don’t use it, you unfortunately lose it. So, I would want to do something related to linguistics.
What does it feel like to be working on cutting edge technology that has the potential to have a real and significant impact on people’s lives and society?
I feel really proud of myself and grateful for all the experiences that led me here. I truly believe what we are doing at the Wyss is important work and I am really glad to be a part of it.