Dr Sonia Sanajou

Dr. Sanajou is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Lokman Hekim University, where she teaches, conducts research, and mentors students in pharmaceutical sciences. Prior to joining Lokman Hekim University, she served as a lecturer at Eastern Mediterranean University between 2017 and 2021, gaining substantial experience in higher education and student training. She also broadened her international research perspective through a four-month research experience at the Department of Biochemistry, Medical University of Innsbruck.

Dr. Sanajou completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in Iran in 2007 and later earned her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from Eastern Mediterranean University in 2017. She received her PhD in pharmaceutical toxicology in Turkey in 2023, specializing in neurodegenerative diseases and mechanistic toxicology. Her doctoral research focused on the role of aluminum in Alzheimer’s disease and investigated the neuroprotective effects of metformin, naltrexone, and dihydrolipoic acid in aluminum-exposed Alzheimer’s cell models, reflecting her strong interest in translational toxicology and disease-oriented research.

Her research portfolio spans pharmaceutical, food, and environmental toxicology, with particular emphasis on neurotoxicity, food contaminants, biomarker research, and emerging environmental pollutants. She has conducted studies on key foodborne mycotoxins such as citrinin and patulin and has also investigated immune and metabolic biomarkers, including tryptophan–kynurenine metabolism and neopterin, across different disease groups. More recently, her work has focused on the health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), an important class of persistent environmental contaminants with growing relevance to global public health.

Dr. Sanajou has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles and continues to contribute actively to the scholarly community as a reviewer for several esteemed international journals. In addition to her undergraduate teaching responsibilities, she has also supervised graduate research in pharmaceutical toxicology, including the successful completion of a master’s thesis. She is a member of both the Turkish Society of Toxicology and the Society of Toxicology in the United States, reflecting her active engagement with national and international toxicology communities. Through her interdisciplinary research and academic activities, Dr. Sanajou continues to advance toxicology, with a particular focus on human health, chemical safety, and public health.