Born in Isparta in 1960, after completing her primary education in Isparta, she graduated from Istanbul girls high school in 1978. Graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology. She started her academic life as a Research Assistant at Istanbul University, Department of Biology, Department of Zoology. She completed her MA and Ph.D. at Istanbul University, Institute of Science and Technology. She received her associate professorship in Zoology-Animal Physiology and was appointed as a professor in 2006. The main subjects of her study are cell biology, animal physiology, pathophysiology, and evolution. Cihan Demirci Tansel became a member of ÇYDD Beşiktaş Branch in 1994 and after the 1999 earthquake, together with Prof. Dr. Türkan Saylan, she took part in the establishment of the Guidance Counseling Social Support Unit at Istanbul University.

Currently, she is a faculty member at Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology. She served as a principal and alternate member of the Board of Directors of ÇYDD Headquarters between 2001 and 2011. She worked on many projects, especially in the scholarship unit, at ÇYDD Headquarters. She left the ÇYDD administration in 2011. In 2019, She returned to the association with the invitation of Prof. Dr. Ayşe Yüksel and took part in the scholarship unit during this period. In addition, she took responsibility for the projects Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom, Grow a Thousand Ideas, and There is a School there. She took part in the establishment of the Contemporary Language Center in 2020. She shared the Scientific Research Methods and Evolution lessons online in the Starfish Project with the students of our branches.