He graduated from Ankara Atatürk Anatolian High School in 1996 and from the Physics Department of Middle East Technical University in 2000. After completing his master’s degree at METU in 2002, he earned his PhD in theoretical high-energy physics and cosmology from the University of Florida in 2008.

After continuing his research at Koç University for one year in 2008, he pursued postdoctoral studies at the Max Planck Institute in Jena from 2009 to 2012. Since 2012, he has been working as a faculty member at Istanbul Technical University.

Dr. Kahya has conducted numerous theoretical studies in the field of cosmology, focusing on quantum gravitational effects and modifications of Einstein's theories. His international publications have received over 600 citations. His academic research was supported by the Marie Curie International Reintegration Grant (IRG) in 2009, and in 2015, he was awarded the Outstanding Young Scientist Award (TÜBA-GEBİP) by the Turkish Academy of Sciences.