Emine Erdoğan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, visited the Marmara Research Center (MAM) and institutes at TÜBİTAK's Gebze campus. Emine Erdoğan inaugurated the Herbal Medicine and Supplementary Food Infrastructures unit established within TÜBİTAK MAM. During the visit, accompanied by Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank and TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, Emine Erdoğan was informed about the projects carried out at the center in the fields of environment, climate change, clean energy, waste water treatment, sustainable food, traditional and complementary medicine, domestic vaccines, COVID-19 tests and drug development.
"Turkey's development of medicines from medicinal plants is admirable"
Receiving information from the researchers about medicinal plants, Emine Erdoğan said that Turkey's development of medicines from medicinal plants was admirable. Afterwards, Emine Erdoğan chatted with the scientists working at the institute for a while and had a souvenir photo taken.
Emine Erdoğan visited the Sekapark Supercritical Fluid Extraction Facility established in cooperation with Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality and TÜBİTAK MAM and was informed about aromatic plant processing activities.
During the visit, Emine Erdoğan was accompanied by Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz and his wife Selda Yavuz, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Assoc. Dr. Tahir Büyükakın, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal and TÜBİTAK MAM President Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil.
Praise for UME's alternative PCR test
Stating that the domestic tests developed by TÜBİTAK National Metrology Institute (UME) as an alternative to the PCR tests used in COVID-19 are faster and more practical, Emine Erdoğan said, "It is pleasing that the domestic COVID-19 tests performed orally instead of through the nose are faster, comfortable and practical. I hope that it will be widespread, especially for our children in the contact group who need to be tested."
Emine Erdoğan also visited the Biosafety Level-3 laboratory of the Institute of Gene Engineering and Biotechnology, where domestic vaccine and drug development studies are carried out under the umbrella of the "TÜBİTAK COVID-19 Turkey Platform", and wished success in their work by talking to the researchers over the intercom.
