TÜBA Member Prof. Dr. Tanyel Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from WOFAPS
TÜBA Honorary Member Prof. Dr. Feridun Cahit Tanyel has been granted the Lifetime Achievement in Pediatric Surgery Award by the World Federation of Associations of Pediatric Surgeons (WOFAPS).
Prof. Dr. Tanyel received the award in recognition of his academic achievements, professional excellence, contributions to the international promotion of pediatric surgery, and his service to the World Federation of Associations of Pediatric Surgeons. The award was presented to Prof. Dr. Feridun Cahit Tanyel during the 8th World Congress of Pediatric Surgeons, held every three years by WOFAPS in Antalya.
Expressing that the award is a great honor for him, Prof. Dr. Tanyel stated: "Throughout my career, I have considered it my duty to contribute to science and children’s health, guide young colleagues, and represent our country in the best possible way on the international stage. This recognition is not only for myself but also a reflection of the trust placed in all my colleagues with whom I have worked."
Who is Prof. Dr. Feridun Cahit Tanyel?
He was born in Eskişehir in 1954. He completed his education at Kütahya Yıldırım Bayezid Primary School (1965), Eskişehir Maarif College (1972), and Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine (1978). Between 1978 and 1983, he completed his residency in the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Hacettepe Faculty of Medicine. He fulfilled his compulsory service at Ankara Dr. Sami Ulus Children’s Hospital and completed his military service at Gülhane Military Medical Academy. In February 1987, he began working as an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatric Surgery at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine. He was promoted to associate professor in October 1988 and to full professor in July 1995. During the 1990–1991 academic year, he worked at the organ preservation laboratory of the University of Wisconsin with a Fulbright Scholarship.
A recipient of the 1994 TÜBİTAK Incentive Award and the 2001 TÜBİTAK Science Award, Tanyel was elected a Full Member of TÜBA in 2002. He served as the Director of the Institute of Child Health and the Center for Tissue and Organ Transplantation at Hacettepe University. He was a Member of the Scientific Board of the European Pediatric Surgery Association (2004–2006), a Member of the TÜBİTAK Science Board (2005–2012), and a Member of the TÜBA Council (2017–2021). He retired from Hacettepe University upon reaching the mandatory retirement age.
His Most Notable Scientific Contribution
His explanations regarding testicular descent differ from all previously proposed theories and form the only framework that correlates the phenomena of testicular descent, undescended testis, ascending testis, hernia, hydrocele, and the increased risks of reduced fertility and malignancy in undescended testis.
He proposed that smooth muscle develops around the processus vaginalis and that the testis descends through the peristaltic contractions of this smooth muscle. Following testicular descent, the programmed cell death of this smooth muscle is required for the closure of the processus vaginalis. He suggests that premature programmed cell death reduces smooth muscle tissue and prevents testicular descent, while delayed programmed cell death results in the persistence of the smooth muscle, leading to hernia, and insufficient cell death leads to hydrocele.