and Aziz Sancar 'for
mechanistic studies of DNA
repair'."
AZIZ SANCAR (born 8 September 1946) is
a Turkish and American biochemistand molecular
biologist specializing in DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, and the
circadian clock. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry for mechanistic studies of DNA repair.
He is the co-founder of the
Aziz and Gwen Sancar
Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization to
promote Turkish culture and to
support Turkish students in the
United States.
Early life and career
Aziz Sancar was born into a
lower-middle-class family in
the Savur district of Mardin
Province, southeastern Turkey
on September 8, 1946. He was
the seventh child of eight. His
parents were illiterate;
however, they put great
emphasis on education. He is
the cousin of HDP Mardin
deputy Mithat Sancar.
Aziz Sancar is honorary
member of the Turkish
Academy of Sciences and
the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences.
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