Aziz Sancar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aziz Sancar
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Sancar in 2015
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| Born | 8 September 1946 Savur, Mardin, Turkey
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| Citizenship | Turkey, United States |
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Gwen Sancar
(m. 1978) |
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| Thesis | A study on photoreactivating enzyme (DNA photolyase) of Escherichia coli (1977) |
| Doctoral advisor | Claud Stan Rupert |
Aziz Sancar (Turkish: [aˈziz ˈsandʒaɾ]; born 8 September 1946) is a Turkish scientist. He is a molecular biologist who studies how our bodies fix damaged DNA. He also researches how cells grow and divide, and how our internal body clock works.
In 2015, he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shared this award with Tomas Lindahl and Paul L. Modrich. They won for their amazing discoveries about how DNA repairs itself. Sancar made important discoveries about how bacteria fix their DNA. He focused on processes called photolyase and nucleotide excision repair.
Today, Sancar is a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He is also part of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. He helped start the Aziz & Gwen Sancar Foundation. This group shares Turkish culture and supports Turkish students in the United States.
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Early Life and Education
Aziz Sancar was born on September 8, 1946, in Savur, Turkey. He grew up in a regular family in southeastern Turkey. He was the seventh of eight children. His parents did not go to school, but they believed education was very important.
Sancar had excellent teachers who inspired him. He did very well in school. At first, he wanted to study chemistry in college. But his friends convinced him to study medicine. So, he went to the Faculty of Medicine at Istanbul University.
His Studies
Sancar finished his medical degree at Istanbul University in 1969. He was the top student in his class. After working as a doctor for a short time, he decided to continue his studies.
He then earned his PhD in 1977 from University of Texas at Dallas. His research focused on how a special enzyme, called photoreactivating enzyme, helps E. coli bacteria fix their DNA.
Scientific Career
After medical school, Sancar worked as a doctor in his hometown for about a year and a half. He then received a scholarship to study biochemistry in the United States. He learned English while studying there.
Sancar became very interested in how bacteria could recover after being exposed to harmful ultraviolet light. This led him to study how DNA repairs itself. In 1976, he successfully copied the gene for photolyase. This is an enzyme that fixes DNA damage caused by ultraviolet light.
After getting his PhD, Sancar worked at Yale University for five years. There, he made major breakthroughs in understanding nucleotide excision repair. This is another way DNA fixes itself, even in the dark. He found that certain enzymes cut out the damaged parts of DNA.
Later, Sancar became a professor at the University of North Carolina. He continued his research on DNA repair in both bacteria and humans. His long-term work has helped us understand how photolyase works.
In 2005, Aziz Sancar became the first Turkish member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is currently a professor of Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is married to Gwen Boles Sancar, who is also a biochemistry professor. Together, they created Carolina Türk Evi. This is a Turkish cultural center near the university. It provides housing for Turkish researchers and promotes cultural exchange.
Research on Circadian Clock
Aziz Sancar and his team have also studied the circadian clock. This is our body's natural 24-hour rhythm. They found that two genes, called Period and Cryptochrome, help keep our cells' clocks in sync.
Their discoveries were published in 2014. Sancar's research helps us understand how our internal clocks work. This knowledge could help treat problems like jet-lag and seasonal affective disorder. It might also help make cancer treatments more effective.
Personal Life
Sancar is married to Gwen Boles Sancar. They met while studying molecular biology in Dallas and got married in 1978.
Aziz Sancar is a Muslim. He has said he is proud of his faith. When he won the Nobel Prize, people asked about his background. He stated clearly that he is Turkish. His brother mentioned that their family came from Oghuz Turks in Central Asia.
Awards and Recognition
Aziz Sancar received the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shared it with Tomas Lindahl and Paul L. Modrich for their work on DNA repair. He also received the Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1984. Sancar is the second Turkish person to win a Nobel Prize.
Sancar gave his original Nobel Prize medal and certificate to the Anıtkabir, which is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey. He did this in a special ceremony on May 19, 2016. He also gave a copy of his medal and certificate to Istanbul University, where he earned his medical degree.
In 2025, Sancar was honored with the Order of Cultural Ambassador of the Turkic World. This award recognized his contributions to culture and knowledge.
