Dr Ayla Gol is a Senior Lecturer in International Politics; she joined the department in 2005, having started her academic career at the Department of International Relations, LSE (2003-05), where she was awarded her PhD. She was a Visiting Scholar at the Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge, November 2009 and March 2010. She was also the inaugural John Vincent Visiting Fellow at the Department of International Relations, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University (2002-03). Dr Göl received a University Award for Teaching Excellence in 2010 and was the winner of the BISA-C-SAP Teaching Excellence Prize in 2011. She is the winner of Student-Led Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2015. She is the author of 'Turkey Facing East: Islam, Modernity & Foreign Policy'.