She holds a PhD from the Department of Sociology, Columbia University. Her research interests include state-society relations in the nineteenth century Ottoman Empire, Tanzimat reforms in Ottoman Bulgaria, nationalism and minority politics in Bulgaria and Turkey. She has published two books in Turkish and several articles in English and Turkish. Her most recent publications are in Turkish Studies, Nationalities Papers, American Behavioral Scientist, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, New Perspectives on Turkey and Middle Eastern Studies.