He was born in 1972 in Ankara. He graduated from Hacettepe University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology in 1995.

After completing his master’s degree in the Department of Histology and Embryology and his Ph.D. in the Department of Physiology at Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine, he worked as a Lecturer and Medical Physiology Specialist at various university medical faculties between 2004 and 2015. He taught courses in several departments, including Medicine, Dentistry, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Health Vocational Schools. From 1998 to 2010, he served as a founding member and instructor of the Turkish Stereology Association, which organized numerous training programs and conducted multidisciplinary research in Turkey and abroad.

Between 2016 and 2023, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Üsküdar University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as the Head of the Master’s Program in Neuromarketing. In 2023, after five years as a professor, he left the university to dedicate all his time to science communication, writing, and research.

In 2017, Dr. Canan, together with his wife Ayşe Müge Canan, founded AçıkBeyin (“OpenBrain”) in Istanbul—an education and research center through which they continue to develop neuroscience-based training programs for individuals and organizations. In 2025, he co-founded the company AB-NeuroTech with Ümit Sami Kubuş, focusing on neurotechnological research and development. Dr. Canan is also a shareholder in Atelier Minyon 1970 A.Ş., a family-run enterprise based in Ankara.

Dr. Sinan Canan continues to share his work through the AçıkBeyin YouTube Channel and the “Sinan Canan ile AçıkBeyin” program broadcast on NTV.

Books:

• Kimsenin Bilemeyeceği Şeyler (Things No One Can Know)

• Değişen Be(y)nim (My Changing Brain)

• Unutulacak Şeyler (Things to Be Forgotten)

• Beynin Sırları (Secrets of the Brain)

• Dijital Dünyada İnsan Kalmak (Staying Human in the Digital World)

• Kendimi Keşfediyorum (Discovering Myself)

• İnsanın Fabrika Ayarları 1: Beden (Human Factory Settings Vol. 1: The Body)

• İnsanın Fabrika Ayarları 2: İlişkiler ve Stres (Human Factory Settings Vol. 2: Relationships and Stress)

• İnsanın Fabrika Ayarları 3: Sınırları Aşmak (Human Factory Settings Vol. 3: Pushing the Limits)

• Nereden Çıktı Bu Korona? (Where Did This Corona Come From?)

• İnsanlık Odaklı Liderlik (Human-Centered Leadership)

• İnsanın Fabrika Ayarları (Expanded Edition) (2023)

• Yeni Dünyanın Cesur İnsanı (The Brave Human of the New World)

• Kadınlar Erkekler Cinslikler ve Cinsellikler – SoruYorum 1 (Women, Men, Genders, and Sexualities – Q&A 1)

• Boşlukların İnsanı (The Human of the Voids)

• Hayatın Anlamı (The Meaning of Life)

• İnsanın Manevi Ayarları (İMA) (Human Spiritual Settings) [forthcoming]

Dr. Sinan Canan organizes nationwide public lectures and programs on general scientific topics such as chaos theory, complexity, fractal geometry, and forms in nature, as well as the neuroscientific foundations of learning, language, human development, mental performance, creativity, art, belief, leadership, education, and parenting.

All his talks are structured around his main frameworks—Human Factory Settings (İFA) and Human Spiritual Settings (İMA)—which also form the basis of all AçıkBeyin’s educational programs. The core mission of AçıkBeyin and Dr. Canan’s work is to bring the scientific insights necessary for building a meaningful life in the modern world to people everywhere.