Aziz Sancar

Aziz Sancar, M.D., Ph.D., serves as the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, a position he has held since 1997. He joined the UNC faculty in 1982 following postdoctoral training at Yale University from 1977 to 1981 and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas in 1977. Sancar earned his M.D. summa cum laude in 1969 from Istanbul University Medical School, graduating first in a class of 625, and briefly practiced medicine in Turkey from 1969 to 1971. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with Tomas Lindahl and Paul Modrich, for elucidating mechanistic principles of DNA repair. His extensive honors include the O. Max Gardner Award in 2016, the highest honor from the University of North Carolina Board of Governors; the North Carolina Award in 2016, the state's highest civilian honor; the ASBMB Bert and Natalie Vallee Award in 2016; election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005, National Academy of Medicine in 2016, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004; and numerous international recognitions such as the Turkish Koç Award in 2007 and honorary doctorates from several countries.

Sancar's research centers on three interrelated areas: DNA repair enzymology and genomics, the mammalian circadian clock, and circadian control of DNA repair. His laboratory reconstituted human nucleotide excision repair in vitro using purified factors including RPA, XPA, XPC, TFIIH, XPG, and XPF-ERCC1, defining dual incisions that excise 24-32 nucleotide oligomers containing DNA lesions like cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and cisplatin adducts. They developed XR-seq (eXcision Repair-Sequencing) to map genome-wide repair, revealing regulators of repair by anticancer drugs. Sancar demonstrated that cryptochromes (CRY) repress CLOCK-BMAL1 via dual mechanisms, providing precision to the circadian rhythm, and discovered circadian regulation of excision repair, influencing UV-induced skin cancer susceptibility and cisplatin chronochemotherapy efficacy. Highly cited publications include "Molecular mechanisms of mammalian DNA repair and the DNA damage checkpoints" (2004, Annual Review of Biochemistry, 4478 citations), "Structure and function of DNA photolyase and cryptochrome blue-light photoreceptors" (2003, Chemical Reviews, 1693 citations), "DNA excision repair" (1996, Annual Review of Biochemistry, 1538 citations), and "Mechanisms of DNA excision repair" (1994, Science, 822 citations). His foundational contributions have transformed understanding of DNA damage response, cell cycle checkpoints, and chronobiology with profound impacts on cancer research and therapy.

Professional Email: aziz_sancar@med.unc.edu