Aziz Sancar (born 8 September 1946) is a Turkish-American biochemist and molecular biologist specializing in DNA repair, cell cycle checkpoints, and the circadian clock. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Tomas Lindahl and Paul L. Modrich for their mechanistic studies of DNA repair.
He is the co-founder of the Aziz and Gwen Sancar Foundation, which is a non-profit organization to promote Turkish culture and to support Turkish students in the United States. Sancar is the second Turkish Nobel laureate after Orhan Pamuk, who is also an alumnus of Istanbul University. Dr. Sancar, the first Turkish-born scientist to win the prize, said it would prompt big celebrations his native land. “I’m glad for my country,” he said. Dr. Modrich showed how cellular machinery fixes errors that arise during DNA replication, reducing the frequency of mistakes by roughly a thousand. Defects in this system cause a hereditary variant of colon cancer. Experts say the insights are likely to aid the development of new treatments for cancer as well as illnesses related to aging. He told the Nobel Foundation he was stunned by his win.
"I have just gotten a call half an hour ago. My wife took it and woke me up. I wasn't expecting it at all. I was very surprised," he said, adding: "I tried my best to be coherent."
Sancar was born in 1946 in Turkey's southeastern province of Mardin. After he completed his M.D. at Istanbul University and completed his Ph.D. on the photo reactivating enzyme of E. coli in 1977 at the University of Texas. Currently a professor at the University of North Carolina, Sancar is an honorary member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.Aziz Sancar is 7th of the 8 brothers in an illiterate family. His elder brother Tahir Sancar says that in brothers there are ones who are technician, soldier but Aziz Sancar was something else. He mentions that Aziz Sancar would always study when the other kids were playing games. He would also rank first in all his schools. Even though he didn't have a chance to study in private schools, he did his best and managed to achieve great things. This is a proof that people who want to achieve something don't always have to be in rich places, they will find their way in some day. This is the information which I think is definitely enough to justify my reasons to candidate Aziz Sancar.
Dear Esin,
YanıtlaSilI enjoyed reading your task. It is really informative. However, there are some points that I like to talk about. Firstly, I couldn’t see any mistakes in your task. I think it is really well prepared in terms of language use. Secondly, I think that your task is not like a reflection. You should have expressed your ideas more. You mostly say the important things about Aziz Sancar. It is like a biography of him. I think you should add your own ideas to your reflection. Finally, there are some problems in organization. In my opinion, you should have explained why you are writing this reflection at the beginning of your paragraph. If I hadn’t known the topic, I wouldn’t be able to understand it. Thus, you should have explained the topic. Also, you should have been more careful about your majors and minors. I think your task is really good, but if you pay attentions to these points, it will be better. Thank you for writing it.
Best.
Thank you for advices, Gözde!
Sil