I am extremely happy to be a contributer in the 100 books for the 100th anniversary project of Istanbul University - Cerrahpaşa University, as a commemoration of the foundation of our Republic. As a female researcher, I remember with gratitude our great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades in arms, who leaded the way for us to excel in academics and sciences much earlier compared with women in other parts of the world.

The institution where I have been working for nearly 30 years, Istanbul University - Cerrahpaşa Cardiology Institute, was established in 1976 as a treatment clinic and has achieved many firsts in the field of cardiology in our country. The founding purpose of the institute is to prevent heart diseases, diagnose and treat them in the best possible way, conduct new research for this purpose, apply new treatments in the best way, and achieve the best all over the world and in Turkey. The first studies in the field of arrhythmia were carried out by the late professor Reşat Garan, and other esteemed professors in the field of electrophysiology, pacemaker and rhythm Holter; namely Muzaffer Öztürk, Cengizhan Türkoğlu, İnci Fıratlı. Device implantation was initiated by a pioneer woman in her field Dr. Canan Karatay ,and continued with the contributions of Nuran Yazıcıoğlu and Dr. Cengiz Çeliker. Our institute has been a pioneer in the field of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery for years. Arrhythmia topics are becoming more and more detailed within general cardiology, and it is aimed for cardiologists to master both the basic topics and radiofrequency ablation and antiarrhythmic device treatments.

I want to express my gratitude for dear colleagues,namely Şükrü Arslan, . Bengisu Keskin, Mustafa Yıldız and Hasan Ali Barman. Ebru Çelik Ercan and Ebru Gölcük, who are successful women researchers working in the field of electrophysiology in our country have brightened our knowledge.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my beloved mentor Prof. Dr. Rasim Enar who has inspired me in cardiology , and provided a valuable summary of the latest studies on covid-19 and arrhythmia, which are now a current problem in the World.

Prof. Dr. Işıl UZUNHASAN