Rate My Professor Aziz Sancar

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.