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    The AUTO-bıography of Aziz Sancar

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    Aziz Sancar was born in 1946 in Turkey to a farming family. He showed early academic promise, encouraged by his mother, father, and brother. He became fascinated by chemistry in high school and studied medicine, then biochemistry, earning his PhD in the US. Sancar's research at UNC uncovered how DNA repair enzymes mend damage from UV light, advancing understanding of cancer and aging. He applied to 50 universities before being accepted, demonstrating his perseverance.

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    The AUTO-bıography of Aziz Sancar

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    asli
    175 views25 pages
    Aziz Sancar was born in 1946 in Turkey to a farming family. He showed early academic promise, encouraged by his mother, father, and brother. He became fascinated by chemistry in high school and studied medicine, then biochemistry, earning his PhD in the US. Sancar's research at UNC uncovered how DNA repair enzymes mend damage from UV light, advancing understanding of cancer and aging. He applied to 50 universities before being accepted, demonstrating his perseverance.

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    Aziz Sancar was born in 1946 in Turkey to a farming family. He showed early academic promise, encouraged by his mother, father, and brother. He became fascinated by chemistry in high school and studied medicine, then biochemistry, earning his PhD in the US. Sancar's research at UNC uncovered how DNA repair enzymes mend damage from UV light, advancing understanding of cancer and aging. He applied to 50 universities before being accepted, demonstrating his perseverance.

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    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    175 views25 pages

    The AUTO-bıography of Aziz Sancar

    Uploaded by

    asli
    Aziz Sancar was born in 1946 in Turkey to a farming family. He showed early academic promise, encouraged by his mother, father, and brother. He became fascinated by chemistry in high school and studied medicine, then biochemistry, earning his PhD in the US. Sancar's research at UNC uncovered how DNA repair enzymes mend damage from UV light, advancing understanding of cancer and aging. He applied to 50 universities before being accepted, demonstrating his perseverance.

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    THE AUTO-BIOGRAPHY OF AZZ SANCAR

    I was born on September 8, 1946, in a small


    town named Savur in the Mardin
    I was the seventh of eight children of Abdulgani
    and Meryem Sancar.
    I also had two half-brothers.

    Father was a farmer, and Mother took care of


    the children and the house.
    we were a lower middle-class family.
    We always had enough to eat, but shoes were
    luxuries, and until the seventh grade we wore
    them only when we went to school.
    My most pleasant memories from childhood
    are the flowering of the almond and plum trees
    in the spring.
    In those early years, I began to learn about
    Islam and was convinced that Paradise must
    look like our orchard when the almond trees
    were in full bloom.
    FIGURE 1. MERYEM SANCAR PREGNANT WITH AZIZ IN
    1946 IN SAVUR, TURKEY. THE LITTLE GIRL IN THE
    BACKGROUND IS THE 4-YEAR OLD SEYRAN, AZIZ'
    YOUNGEST SISTER.
    Overall, I did not like farm work.
    Our large family was an important part of my
    early childhood.
    Uncles, aunts, and many cousins lived in
    Savur, and there were often other relatives.
    The three most important influences in my
    early education, in addition to Mustafa Kemal
    Ataturk, were
    my mother Meryem,

    my father Abdulgani, and

    Kenan, my oldest brother.


    My mother was an illiterate woman
    Although she could not read or write, she was
    the most intelligent woman I have known.
    My father was the hardest working man I have
    ever known. He was, and still is, my role model.
    My oldest brother, Kenan, taught me how to
    read and write when I was 5 years old.
    I was the top student in my class throughout my
    primary education in Savur and my secondary
    education in Mardin.
    My favorite classes were math, Turkish, French
    and chemistry.
    In 10th grade an excellent chemistry teacher
    inspired me to become a chemist.
    I grew up playing soccer.
    In high school, I played goal keeper for my high
    school (Mardin Lisesi), for Savur Spor (Savur),
    and for Mezopotamya Spor (Mardin).
    I was very good because I had fast reflexes
    and was fearless.
    PICTURE OF THE MARDIN LISESI HIGH SCHOOL
    SOCCER TEAM IN 1962. AZIZ IS THE GOAL
    KEEPER (TOP ROW, 2ND FROM RIGHT).
    When I graduated from high school I took the
    entrance exam for the B.Sc. Program in
    chemistry at Istanbul University
    also took the Medical School Entrance Exam.

    I began medical school in November 1963.


    Coming to a cosmopolitan city like Istanbul had
    both advantages and disadvantages.
    I made friends with Turks of different ethnic
    backgrounds including Alevi, Armenian, Jewish,
    Greek, Kurdish,
    This enlightened my world view,
    AZIZ WITH HIS MEDICAL SCHOOL HISTOLOGY
    CLASS IN 1964. AZIZ IS IN THE CENTER NEXT TO
    HIS PROFESSOR.
    In my second year of medical school, I learned
    for the first time about the DNA double helix;
    I was fascinated and decided to become a
    biochemist when I graduated.
    In 1971, I won a NATO fellowship to fund Ph.D.
    research in one of the member countries.
    I chose the United States, because it was the
    leader in scientific research in the world.
    I studied at the University of Texas, Dallas,
    where I received my doctorate in 1977.
    I m a professor at the University of North
    Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.
    I m married to Gwen Boles Sancar who also is a
    professor in biochemistry and biophysics.
    PICTURE OF AZIZ AND GWEN IN 1994 IN
    CHAPEL HILL, NC.
    DO YOU KNOW THAT.

    I applied to about 50 universities and was


    turned down by all of them, some without even
    a reply to my application.
    BUT I NEVER GAVE UP SO THIS IS THE RESULT
    Work
    Living cells have DNA molecules that carry an
    organism's genes. For the organism to live and develop,
    its DNA cannot change. DNA molecules are not
    completely stable, and they can be damaged. In 1983,
    through studies of bacteria, Aziz Sancar showed how
    certain protein molecules, certain repair enzymes, repair
    DNA damaged by ultraviolet (UV) light. These discoveries
    have increased our understanding of how the living cell
    works, the causes of cancer and aging processes.

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