Kursad Turksen received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada in the area of osteoprogenitor biology and cell selection methodologies. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois, studying epidermal biology through use of genetically-altered mouse models. He joined the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute in Ottawa, Canada [previously known as the Loeb Research Institute] where he rose to the position of Senior Scientist in the Division of Regenerative Medicine. His research interests focus on stem cell biology, with a particular interest in the Claudin family of tight junction proteins and their role in epidermal lineage commitment and progression during development in health and disease. Dr. Turksen was, until recently, Editor in Chief of the Springer journal Stem Cell Reviews and Reports and currently serves as Series Editor for the Springer series Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

Autophagy and Stem cells.- Fine-Tuning the Stem Cell Fate by Autophagy.- Role of Autophagy in Aging of Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Their Niche: Relevance in Clinical Transplantations and Regenerative Medicine.- Forkhead box O (FoxO) Transcription Factors in Autophagy, Metabolic Health, and Tissue Homeostasis.- The Role of mTOR in Osteoclasts.- Apoptotic Cell Clearance in Gut Tissue-Role of Intestinal Regeneration.- Autophagic Regulation of Cardiomyocyte Survival and Heart Regeneration.- The Role of Autophagy in Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Based Suppression of Immune Response.- Emerging Connections: Presynaptic Autophagy in Brain Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases.- Virus and Autophagy: Enemies or Allies.- Cancer Stem Cells and Autophagy: Present Knowledge and Future Perspectives.