She graduated from Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1991. She received an MSc in Medical Microbiology from Georgia State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Atlanta, GA , USA. Upon graduation she was awarded a Research Fellowship from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA where she worked for 3 years as an international researcher. She then worked as Senior Research Specialist at Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA until 2004.

She received her PhD on influenza virus genetics from Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine where she served as the Coordinator of the National Influenza Reference Laboratory for 9 years. She became an Associate Professor in 2013 at the same institution.

She was a board member of European Scientists Working on Influenza (ESWI) and founding member of Influenza Stakeholer Network (Grip Platformu) in Turkey and Middle East North Africa-Influenza Stakeholder Network (MENA-ISN). She served as temporary advisor to WHO as the editor of WHO Influenza Bulletin.

Dr. Akcay has authored and co-authored more than 50  articles published in peer reviewed journals. She is known for her motivating lectures on influenza viruses, influenza burden and influenza prevention globally.

She joined Sanofi Pasteur in 2014 as a Regional Disease Expert/ Influenza/ for Africa, Middle East and Eurasia Regions. Currently, she is the Senior Global Medical Expert and Scientific Engagement Lead for Influenza at Sanofi based in Lyon, France.