Rate Professor Aziz Sancar

Academic Profile

Academic Background: M.D., Istanbul University, 1969; Ph.D., Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Dallas, 1977.

Research Interests: DNA repair mechanisms, particularly nucleotide excision repair, and circadian clock regulation. His work focuses on understanding molecular repair of DNA damage caused by UV light and chemotherapeutic agents.

Appointments: Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UNC School of Medicine; Member, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Awards: Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2015, for mechanistic studies of DNA repair; Member, National Academy of Sciences; Turkish Academy of Sciences.

Publications: Over 400 peer-reviewed articles, including 'Molecular mechanisms of mammalian DNA repair and the DNA damage checkpoints' (Annual Review of Biochemistry, 2004).

Additional Contributions: Established the Aziz and Gwen Sancar Foundation to promote Turkish culture and education in the U.S.