VIDEO: Sancar discusses Nobel Prize, importance of education

Proconian's Nick Elston sat down with Nobel Laureate Aziz Sancar to discuss the Nobel Prize, life experiences and advice for budding scientists.

Thanks to the work of a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, scientists now have a better understanding of the mechanisms cells use to heal themselves after being damaged.

Aziz Sancar, Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the mechanistic studies of DNA repair. The award was given to him along with two other professors, one of whom works at Duke University.

Sancar was raised growing vegetables alongside ten siblings on a remote farm in Turkey. His father taught him the principles of hard work while his mother pushed him towards education.

After coming to the United States to earn his MD, Sancar returned to his hometown to work as a doctor for a few years.

However, his curiosity for how things work at the molecular level brought him back to the United States, where he received a PhD from the University of Texas at Dallas. After receiving his PhD, Sancar began to study DNA repair.

When DNA is exposed to ultraviolet light or other carcinogenic substances, its molecular composition is often disrupted. Sancar wanted to study how, since we are constantly being exposed to these things through sunlight and other objects, our DNA is not often permanently damaged.

Sancar discovered and mapped what is called the nucleotide excision repair (NER). NER, a cellular pathway, is able to remove and replace damaged portions of DNA. It is constantly active in human cells and is vital for keeping us alive.

NER has applications in cancer research. As it is a naturally occurring preventative measure against cancer, studying the pathway can significantly increase our understanding of the disease and how best to treat it.

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