无论对他的学生还是对其他科学家来说，桑贾尔博士都是个举足轻重的人物。今年，他与另外两位科学家一起被授予诺贝尔化学奖，以表彰他们对DNA 修复机制研究的贡献。

一般人大概不会意识到，我们的细胞每时每刻都在对DNA链进行修复。例如，当我们置身户外时，DNA会受到来自太阳紫外线的损害。我们的细胞通常通过一个被称为“核苷酸切除修复”的过程给予修复。桑贾尔和他的同事确切绘出了这一过程――这将对癌症治疗产生重大影响。

从土耳其到“土耳其之家”

桑贾尔出生在土耳其的一个乡村小镇，他曾有可能走上一条迥然不同的人生道路。他告诉记者说，“其实我当时的人生目标进入土耳其国家队踢足球”，“但我的身高差四英寸[10厘米]不够当守门员”。

于是，桑贾尔在1969年拿到了伊斯坦布尔大学(University of Istanbul)的医学学位，然后跟随一位导师去了得克萨斯大学达拉斯分校(University of Texas at Dallas)攻读分子生物学博士学位。在那里，他的无数个夜晚都是在实验室里度过的。

他告诉一家大学报纸说，尽管他很努力，“但我有适应问题。”对他来说，英语不是母语，而且适应美国文化也极具有挑战性。但他一路坚持了下来，并且遇到了他未来的妻子和生物化学合作伙伴格温·桑贾尔(Gwen Sancar)，而后到北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)担任教授。

在整个职业生涯中，他从未忘记适应美国生活是怎样一种感受。因此，他和妻子于2007年通过“阿齐兹和格温·桑贾尔基金会”(Aziz and Gwen Sancar Foundation)创办了“卡罗来纳Türk Evi”，或曰“土耳其之家”（Turkish House）。对他来说，这是梦想成真。

这幢位于教堂山的两层楼房是土耳其学者们的家园，也是一个让美国学生更多了解土耳其文化的地方。这里可以接纳四个刚到美国的学生，他们可以从面对过同样挑战的教授那里租房间。桑贾尔说，第一年过后，学生们便能够进入当地社区生活。

他说，“我在得克萨斯州达拉斯走下飞机的那一天，就对自己作了一个许诺，今后要尽自己的所能来办这样一个项目。”

除了帮助新生适应生活以外，土耳其之家还为整个校园带来了土耳其文化。教堂山分校前土耳其学生协会主席雅克塔·佐菲卡尔(Yekta Zulfikar)表示说，桑贾尔夫妇对她组织的所有校园活动都给予了支持。

她说，“但我最珍贵的记忆是我们举办庆祝土耳其的独立日活动”，房间里摆着土耳其佳肴，充满了无伴奏清唱歌声以及学生们的娓娓交谈声。

桑贾尔夫妇在整个学年里都会主办一些讲座、音乐表演，偶尔还有烹饪课，从而让校园社区领略到土耳其的文化风情。

大学是寻找新的文化体验和寻找导师的好机会。你在观看足球比赛或是参加校园节日活动时遇到的教授，说不定就是一位诺贝尔奖得主呢。


He won a Nobel Prize, and helping students is in his DNA

 As a professor, Dr. Aziz Sancar leads a pretty normal life. He spends a lot of time in his lab, and you might see him and his wife out on campus at a women’s soccer match. At home, however, he’s devoted to helping international students studying for the first time in the U.S.

And he’s kind of a big deal, both to his students and to other scientists. This year, he won a share of the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on DNA repair.

We may not be aware of it, but our cells repair strands of DNA all the time. Whenever we’re outside, our DNA is damaged by ultraviolet light from the sun. Our cells usually have a way to fix these problems through a process called “nucleotide excision repair.” Sancar and his colleagues mapped out exactly how this works — with huge implications for cancer treatment.

From Turkey to Türk Evi

Born in a rural town in Turkey, Sancar could have been something else entirely. “To be honest, my main goal in life was to play soccer for the Turkish national team,” he told a reporter. “But I was about four inches [10 centimeters] too short to play goalkeeper.”

Instead, Sancar earned a medical degree from the University of Istanbul in 1969 and then followed a mentor to the University of Texas at Dallas for a doctoral program in molecular biology. There, he spent many late nights running experiments in the lab.

Despite his hard work, he told a university newspaper, “I had adjustment problems.” English was foreign to him, and American culture was challenging. But he persevered, met his wife and partner in biochemistry, Gwen Sancar, and moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a professor.

Throughout his career, he never forgot what it was like to adjust to life in the United States. So in 2007, he and his wife founded Carolina Türk Evi, or “Turkish House,” through the Aziz and Gwen Sancar Foundation. It was a dream come true.

The house in Chapel Hill is a home for Turkish scholars and a place for American students to learn more about Turkey. Four students making their initial transition to U.S. life can rent a room from a professor who’s experienced similar challenges. After the first year, Sancar says, students are ready to move into the community.

“The day I stepped off the airplane in Dallas, Texas,” he said, “I promised myself to eventually dedicate my resources to a project of this kind.”

In addition to helping new students adjust, Türk Evi brings Turkish culture to the entire campus. Yekta Zulfikar, a former president of the UNC Turkish Student Association, said the Sancars have supported all of her campus events.

“My favorite memory, though, is from when we organized a celebration for the Independence Day of Turkey,” she said. The house was filled with Turkish treats, a cappella singing, and the sounds of students talking.

Throughout the academic year, the Sancars host lectures, musical performances and the occasional cooking class to bring a taste of Turkey to the campus community.

College is a great time to seek out new cultural experiences and find a mentor. You never know — sometimes that professor you met at a soccer match or campus festival might have won a Nobel Prize.