Dr. Umut Toprak is a Professor of Entomology at the Ankara University. Umut completed his PhD at the University of Saskatchewan, Dept. of Biology, Canada in 2011. During his career, he has been to various research institutes as a visiting research scientist such as Purdue University, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Penn State, Iowa State University, and Christian Albrechts University zu Kiel. He started at Ankara University as an Assistant Professor in 2013 and currently leads the Molecular Entomology Lab. Umut had a grand total of over 2.5 million USD since he started his professional career at Ankara University.
Umut’s expertise is molecular insect physiology & biochemistry, in particular insect midgut & peritrophic matrices, insect defense physiology against baculoviruses and Bacillus thuringiensis, insect lipid metabolism, and neuropeptides. His ultimate goal is to develop innovative pest control strategies targeting the operation of insect physiological systems using microbials and biomolecules such as dsRNA and venomes. Umut published 51 peer-reviewed articles which have been cited over 2400 times. His articles have been published in the PNAS, Annual Review of Entomology, as well as in various other prestigious entomology and molecular biology journals including Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Insect Molecular Biology, Journal of Insect Physiology, Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, Frontiers in Physiology, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology and Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology. Umut is also a co-author of a chapter in a book on insect genomics and proteomics published in 2017 by Springer.
Umut is the recipient of various awards such as the Science Award 2019 (Ankara University, Faculty of Agriculture), Early Career Award 2016 (Ankara University), Early Career Award 2014 (The Union of the Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects), Mauro E. Martignoni Award 2010 (Society for Invertebrate Pathology), Pest Management Research Award 2010 (Canadian Society of Agronomy), and Arthur R. Brooks Award 2008 (Entomological Society of Saskatchewan).
Umut is an active member of the international scientific society. He is a member of the Entomological Society of America, the Society for Invertebrate Pathology, and the Entomological Society of Türkiye. He currently serves as the Physiology & Biochemistry and Toxicology Section Representative for the Publication Council of the Entomological Society of America and Regional Ambassador of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology. Umut has given many invited talks at international platforms such as Harvard University, Michigan State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Western Michigan University, Purdue University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, University of Saskatchewan, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Pennsylvania State University.
Umut has served as the organizer & chair of various international events such as “2nd International Molecular Plant Protection Congress (IMPPC2023)”, Bursa, Türkiye, May 15-18 (2023), “1st International Molecular Plant Protection Congress (IMPPC2019)”, Adana, Türkiye, April 10-13 (2019), and “5th International Entomopathogens and Microbial Control Congress”, Ankara, Türkiye, September 9-11 (2015). In IMPPC2023, Umut also chaired & moderated the opening lecture of the event given by Professor Craig Mello, 2006 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, who discovered RNA interference (RNAi). Other events organized by Umut include various symposiums “From Fat to Fact: Recent Insights on Insect Lipid Metabolism” at the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, St Louis, USA, November 17-20 (2019), “The multiple layers of Host-Pathogens Interactions” at the Annual Meeting of Society for Invertebrate Pathgology, Valencia, Spain, July 28 – August 1 (2019), “The Peritrophic Matrix: From Past to Future” at the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, Denver, USA, November 5-8 (2017). Umut served as a steering & organization committee member of XII European Congress of Entomology-ECE 2023, held in Hersonissos Crete, Greece, October 16-20, 2023. He coordinated the insect physiology & biochemistry sessions at ECE2023.
Umut has had various editorial responsibilities to date. He served as the special issue editor of “From Fat to Fact: Recent Insights on Insect Lipid Metabolism“ in Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, “Molecular insights into Insect Physiological Systems I” and “Molecular insights into Insect Physiological Systems II” in Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, and “The Peritrophic Matrix: From Past to Future” in the Journal of Insect Physiology. Umut currently serves also as the associate editor for the section on insect molecular genetics in Frontiers in Insect Science; as well as an editorial board member in Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, Frontiers in Physiology, Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Turkish Journal of Entomology, and Bulletin of Plant Protection.
Umut’s recent assignments are on the lead editorship of two special issues in recognition of IMPPC-2023. The first special issue “Recent Insights into RNAi in Insect Biology and Pest Management” will be published in “Insect Molecular Biology”, a Q1 top journal in the field of Insect Molecular Biology with an impact factor of 2.6. The second special issue “Recent Insights into Insect Physiology & Biochemistry” will be published in “Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology”, a Q1 top journal in the field of Insect Physiology and Biochemistry with an impact factor of 2.2.