After Özlem held her undergradute degree in architecture, she worked in various design and construction companies in Istanbul, such as Arup Istanbul Office. In 2007, she started MSc. in Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Turkey and completed her dissertation in the Applied Sciences University of Stuttgart (HFT), Germany. Right after, she held MSc degree, she worked as a researcher in the same university. Meanwhile, she decided to continue to study on energy efficient architecture.

The objective of her master of science dissertation was energy efficient parameters of settlements, in which, energy efficient constructions are focused on, energy efficiency parameters have been determined and the impacts of criteria that are related to settlement have been searched on a given example by energy demand simulations.

The focus of the research project that she participate in HFT was, GenSap, which was objecting the energy efficient refurbishment of a high capacity elderly house and preparing a guidebook for the possible elderly houses to be refurbished in Germany.

For the following studies, she is highly interested in energy efficient conversion of building stock, urban scale refurbishing and energy efficient building design aspects.