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Highlights

• Computer science alum and competitive powerlifter Ilkin Isler 麻豆精品 S�22MS 麻豆精品 S�25PhD often chooses growth over comfort, pushing herself to be and do. This mentality led her to leave her home country, Turkey, to pursue AI studies at UCF.

• While a student, Isler worked with doctors and other researchers to help improve imaging analysis for cancer.

• Now a senior AI engineer at Universal Creative, she helps improve safety for park guests.

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When Isler says candidly, 麻豆精品 S淲orking on my Ph.D. is the most difficult thing I’ve ever faced,” there 麻豆精品 S檚 a montage of difficult things in her life to consider 麻豆精品 S� physical and mental, past and present.

For example, in August 2025, the recent computer science doctoral graduate began work as a senior artificial intelligence (AI) engineer at Universal Creative. Her role involved analyzing complex white papers and developing state-of-the-art AI systems from scratch 麻豆精品 S� all for the purpose of improving the safety of park guests.

麻豆精品 S淚 find solutions for high-risk applications, 麻豆精品 S� Isler says, 麻豆精品 S渨hich is a good description for what I love to do. 麻豆精品 S�

“… when I hear something can 麻豆精品 S檛 be done, it motivates me to make it happen.” 麻豆精品 S� Ilkin Isler 麻豆精品 S�22MS 麻豆精品 S�25PhD

The fact that her work requires fortitude also fits Isler well. In high school in Turkey, she once walked into a gym 麻豆精品 S渏ust for something to do. 麻豆精品 S� A trainer immediately suggested she head to the cardio area, where she 麻豆精品 S檇 blend in easily. Isler, however, saw the powerlifting space and thought, 麻豆精品 S�罢丑补迟 麻豆精品 S檚 what I want to do. 麻豆精品 S�

麻豆精品 S淚 had to teach myself how to do [powerlifting], 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淧eople probably thought I 麻豆精品 S檇 give up, but when I hear something can 麻豆精品 S檛 be done, it motivates me to make it happen. 麻豆精品 S�

Self-taught and competing despite her small frame, Isler went on to become a European powerlifting champion.

All of this is important for understanding the person who, while studying at UCF, helped develop an AI model to assess cancerous tumors.

Using Computer Imaging to Enhance Patient Care

Guided by a team of advisors, Isler came up with a way to feed medical imaging into an algorithm that measures shapes and textures with more speed, precision and consistency than is currently possible. Given such accurate information, an oncologist could make quicker, more confident decisions 麻豆精品 S� improving overall patient care.

“… [Ilkin’s] work helps push the field forward in an important and timely way.” 麻豆精品 S� David Mohaisen, UCF computer science professor

麻豆精品 S淭he problem she chose to work on is inherently difficult for several reasons, 麻豆精品 S� says David Mohaisen, UCF computer science professor and one of her advisors. 麻豆精品 S淢edical imaging is a high-stakes domain where errors have serious clinical consequences. 麻豆精品 S�

麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 also a mature and crowded research area, with competitive works focusing on incremental benchmark gains rather than addressing deeper issues, such as reliability, uncertainty and clinical integration, 麻豆精品 S� Mohaisen continues. 麻豆精品 S淚nstead of chasing marginal improvements, Ilkin focused on meaningful outcomes. Her work helps push the field forward in an important and timely way. 麻豆精品 S�

Yet the breakthrough alone, and the work that went into it, does not fully capture what Isler faced at the dizzying start of her doctorate journey.

Taking a Chance to Change Her Life and Others

Isler arrived from Turkey with two suitcases and a hotel reservation near UCF.

麻豆精品 S淢y mom filled one of the suitcases with Turkish food, 麻豆精品 S� Isler says. She can laugh now, but at the time, she had no clear path beyond the airport. 麻豆精品 S淚 had to figure everything out. 麻豆精品 S�

A few years earlier, she traveled across the globe to UCF as an undergraduate, having earned a competitive internship in the Synthetic Reality Lab, where she worked with Pegasus Professor Charles Hughes and then computer engineering doctoral student Kamran Ali 麻豆精品 S�21PhD on facial expression recognition.

麻豆精品 S淪he committed herself to the research, 麻豆精品 S� Hughes says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd even contributed to writing and editing the resulting report after she returned to Turkey. 麻豆精品 S�

Days away from starting doctorate-level research, with all her belongings in a single piece of luggage, Isler would do what she does best: find a way. She moved from the hotel to an unfurnished apartment.

But with her, Isler brought two specific interests to her postgraduate research at UCF. Her mother, a dentist in Turkey, inspired an interest in medical advancement. Her father, a computer science professor, recognized in his daughter the curiosity and determination required for the field.

麻豆精品 S淚f I know an idea can be impactful, I 麻豆精品 S檒l do whatever is necessary to make it a reality, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淭he higher the stakes, the more driven I become. 麻豆精品 S�

Those stakes led her to focus on medical imaging solutions for cancer care worldwide. Without a medical background, she collaborated with doctors. It helped that she never looked at her research as an academic exercise. She wanted only to deliver something trustworthy that clinicians everywhere could use to eliminate gray areas in image analysis.

麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檝e been fortunate to work with many doctoral students over the years, and Ilkin stands out on multiple levels, 麻豆精品 S� says Mohaisen, pointing out her motivation, energy and curiosity, before adding: 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檇 say she is among the most driven. 麻豆精品 S�

Fueled by Challenge and Service

By now, the source of Isler 麻豆精品 S檚 uncommon drive is clear. Every time someone showed skepticism about her powerlifting, she responded by breaking a national record. Although she could have attended a private college in Turkey, where she would have been surrounded by familiar language and culture, she instead chose to move across the world to study AI.

There 麻豆精品 S檚 one more motivation that consistently guides her: others.

Isler considers her greatest accomplishment in powerlifting to be the doors she helped open for others in Turkey to try any form of fitness they choose. And she says she would gladly move to another continent again, with just a suitcase and her AI skills, if it meant helping improve the lives of others.

麻豆精品 S淲hen I look back, I can see that I 麻豆精品 S檝e often traded comfort for growth, 麻豆精品 S� she says, 麻豆精品 S渁nd I will not hesitate to do it again. 麻豆精品 S�