[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 164 (Wednesday, November 4, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING DRS. AZIZ SANCAR AND PAUL MODRICH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 4, 2015

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate the University of North Carolina School of Medicine's Dr. 
Aziz Sancar and Duke University School of Medicine's Dr. Paul Modrich 
on receiving the 2015 Nobel Prize for chemistry.
  This is a remarkable accomplishment for Drs. Sancar and Modrich and 
for the universities and researchers who support their work. As a UNC 
graduate and a former Duke professor, I am especially thrilled with the 
announcement.
  Drs. Sancar and Modrich were awarded the prize in recognition of 
their work with Dr. Thomas Lindhal of Britain on DNA mismatch repair. 
The consensus of the scientific community is that this is critically 
important work that could pave the way for innovative new treatments 
for cancer and other diseases.
  Dr. Aziz Sancar is the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry 
and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. 
A native of Savur-Mardin, Turkey and the first Turkish-American Member 
of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Sancar runs the Sancar Lab at 
UNC, directing the university's biomedical research. He has called 
North Carolina home since 1982, and he and his wife Gwen created the 
Turkish House in Chapel Hill and are spearheading efforts to create a 
permanent Turkish Center at UNC.
  Dr. Paul Modrich is the James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry at 
Duke University and a Member of the Duke Cancer Institute. He has been 
an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for over 20 
years. He heads the Modrich Lab, which has been responsible for a 
number of major innovations in cancer and biomedical research. He has 
been at Duke since 1976.
  This announcement is another important reminder that Congress must 
renew its commitment to research and innovation. Roughly, two-thirds of 
our nation's basic research is directly supported by federal agencies. 
Federal funding from the NIH and CDC provides researchers with critical 
financial support, and it is one of the most important investments we 
can make both for public health and the economy. Biomedical research 
alone creates millions of jobs and adds two dollars to the economy for 
every dollar invested. We must reverse the shortsighted cuts to 
research funding imposed by Congress in recent years and once again 
make robust investments in the sort of research conducted by Drs. 
Modrich and Sancar.
  I join with well-wishers from North Carolina and around the world to 
congratulate Dr. Modrich and Dr. Sancar on their historic 
accomplishment, and I am proud that these two world-class leaders in 
biomedical research call the Triangle home.

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