معرفی
Prof. Aziz Sancar is a Turkish-American Nobel laureate in Chemistry (2015), currently serving as a Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics within the University of North Carolina School of Medicine since 1997. A graduate of İstanbul University Faculty of Medicine (1969), he earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Dallas (1977) and conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University School of Medicine (1977-1982). His work focuses on DNA repair mechanisms, nucleotide excision repair, cancer treatment, and circadian rhythm regulation.
- Education: İstanbul University Faculty of Medicine (MD, 1969); University of Texas at Dallas (PhD, Molecular Biology, 1977)
His research on photolyase enzymes and DNA repair pathways has advanced understanding of cellular mechanisms against UV damage and informed cancer therapies. He pioneered connections between circadian rhythm and DNA repair efficiency.
Notable awards include the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2015), US National Academy of Sciences membership (2005), and TÜBİTAK Science Award (1997). He donated his Nobel medal to Atatürk's Anıtkabir Museum, emphasizing his gratitude to Turkey's educational reforms.
Sancar co-founded the Aziz & Gwen Sancar Foundation with his wife, biochemist Gwen Boles Sancar, establishing the Carolina Turkish House to support Turkish students in the US and strengthen Turkish-American relations.