Aziz Sancar

Aziz Sancar
Sancar in 2015
Born (1946-09-08) 8 September 1946 (age 78)
Savur, Mardin, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
CitizenshipTurkey, United States
Alma mater
Spouses
Gwen Sancar
​
(m. 1978)​
[3][4]
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisA study on photoreactivating enzyme (DNA photolyase) of Escherichia coli (1977)
Doctoral advisorClaud Stan Rupert

Aziz Sancar (Turkish: [aˈziz ˈsandʒaɾ]; born 8 September 1946) is a Turkish molecular biologist specializing in DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, and circadian clock.[5][6] In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Tomas Lindahl and Paul L. Modrich for their mechanistic studies of DNA repair.[7][8] He has made contributions on photolyase and nucleotide excision repair in bacteria that have changed his field.

Sancar is currently the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.[9] He is the co-founder of the Aziz & Gwen Sancar Foundation, which is a non-profit organization to promote Turkish culture and to support Turkish students in the United States.[3]

  1. ^ "Geçmiş Yıllarda Bilim Ödülü Alanlar" (in Turkish). Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Ödül Alanlar". Vehbi Koç Award. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b "The Aziz & Gwen Sancar Foundation – Carolina Türk Evi – Turkish House, NC". carolinaturkevi.org. Archived from the original on 2015-10-09. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  4. ^ "A Nobel Partnership". magazine.utdallas.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  5. ^ "Aziz Sancar | Biography, Facts, & Nobel Prize". 4 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Aziz Sancar". UNC School of Medicine. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  7. ^ Broad, William J. (7 October 2015). "Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for DNA Studies". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  8. ^ Staff (7 October 2015). "THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY 2015 – DNA repair – providing chemical stability for life" (PDF). Nobel Prize. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  9. ^ "UNC-Chapel Hill Scientist Aziz Sancar Wins Nobel Prize for Chemistry" (Press release). UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.