معرفی
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Koray KIRIKCI is a faculty member at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, where he currently serves as Associate Professor since 2024. Previously, he held positions as Doctoral Faculty Member (2020-2024) and Research Assistant (2011-2020) at the same institution. He also holds administrative positions including Department Vice Chair (since 2022), Education Coordinator (since 2021), and Education and Teaching Committee Member.
Dr. KIRIKCI earned his BSc in Agricultural Engineering from Gaziosmanpaşa University (2005-2009), followed by an MSc in Animal Science from Ondokuz Mayıs University (2010-2012), and completed his PhD in Animal Science at the same institution (2012-2017). He also received a YÖKDİL certificate with 85 points in 2021.
His research focuses on animal breeding and genetics, particularly in small ruminants. His primary interests include sheep and goat breeding, biometrics, genetics, gene polymorphisms related to reproductive traits, meat quality, and molecular markers for selection. He has made significant contributions to understanding the genetic basis of litter size, multiple births, and meat production traits in Turkish native sheep breeds.
Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on reproductive genetics in sheep, particularly investigating BMP15 and GDF9 genes and their relationship with litter size. His work spans multiple Turkish native sheep breeds including Akkaraman, Karayaka, Çepni, and Of, as well as international collaborations with Kazakh researchers on Saryarka sheep. His research combines molecular techniques like PCR-RFLP with quantitative genetic analysis to identify markers for selective breeding.
Dr. KIRIKCI has supervised at least one Master's student, Melike Kavuzkoz, whose thesis focused on FSHR, LHβ, and GPR54 gene mutations in Sakız sheep. He has taught numerous graduate and undergraduate courses including Genetic Analysis, Population Genetics, and Animal Breeding Methods.
He has been principal investigator for 20 research projects, including studies on indel and major gene mutations related to multiple births in Ankara goats (2025-2027), polymorphism and phylogenetic relationships of BMP15 and GDF9 genes in native sheep breeds from Kazakhstan and Türkiye (2024-2025), and investigation of FSHR, LHβ, and GPR54 gene mutations in Sakız sheep (2023-2024). His work demonstrates strong international collaboration, particularly with Kazakh National Agrarian Research University.
