Prof. Dr. Elif Vatanoğlu Lutz became the first woman from Turkey to be awarded the Gusi Peace Prize, known as the Nobel of Asia which is given to people who contribute to world peace.
Lutz, who founded the Oxytocin Medicine and Art Platform, was deemed worthy of an award for her efforts to raise awareness of the ‘oxytocin hormone’ all over the world and to use this awareness for social therapy to fight against racism.
The award ceremony, which was held in Istanbul this year with hundreds of participants from different countries of the world, had a special importance for Turkey. Yeditepe University Faculty of Medicine faculty member Prof. Dr. Elif Vatanoğlu Lutz became the first woman from Turkey to receive the international 2021 Gusi Peace Prize.
We will continue to work on the visibility of medicine and art
In her speech about the award, Elif Vatanoğlu Lutz said, “I am incredibly happy to be deemed worthy of this worldwide prestigious award, thanks to Oxytocin. We will continue to work on the visibility of medicine and art and to implement our projects.”
The 19th Gusi Peace Prize was awarded to the Founder of Nişantaşı Educational Foundation in the field of education and technology, Oğuz Aydemir for his works in the field of culture, and Erol Makzume, who made a great contribution to art with his collector identity, were among the names deemed worthy of the award. The first person to be awarded the Gusi Peace Prize was the famous mountaineer and founder of AKUT Association Nasuh Mahruki.
About Elif Vatanoğlu Lutz
She graduated from İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty in İstanbul, Turkey in 1999. Completed her PhD in the Department of History of Medicine and Ethics at İstanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty in 2007. She became Assistant Professor at Yeditepe University Medical Faculty in İstanbul in 2008. She became Associate Professor in 2014.
Between 2008-2011, she lectured in the Health Law doctorate program at Kadir Has University Faculty of Law. As a result of her interest in the relationship of all social science disciplines with medicine, she founded the Oxytocin Medicine and Art Platform in 2019, after giving lectures and research on many different topics in the field of human sciences in medicine, especially in the discipline of medicine and art. She is currently a faculty member at Yeditepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of History of Medicine and Ethics.
What is oxytocine?
Continuing its journey as the intersection point of medicine and art since its establishment in 2019, the Oxytocin platform takes its name from the hormone that facilitates childbirth. Recent studies also reveal the effect of the hormone oxytocin on behaviour. Oxytocin, which has anti-anxiety effects while helping to reduce blood pressure as well as relaxation, raises the pain threshold and promotes growth and healing. The hormone oxytocin provides a sense of trust in social interaction and communication. In addition, psychological factors such as doing good to others increase oxytocin levels.