Tomas lindahl biography channel youtube

The latest news, analysis and opinion from Cancer Research UK. Tomas Lindahl, recognised as one of the founders of the DNA repair field, began his career in genetics at a time when the field of nucleic acid biochemistry was just opening up. This simple question challenged long-established scientific dogma: that genes, as a conduit of inherited characteristics, are very stable over time and across generations, so the molecules carrying them must themselves be tough and well protected.

Indeed, before the discovery of the structure of DNA and the first mechanistic insights into molecular biology, there was little reason to believe that DNA is as unstable and prone to mutation as we now know it is. Tomas was amongst the first to recognise the existence of DNA repair mechanisms early in his career at the Karolinska Institute in the s.

He realised that, in addition to presenting interesting scientific challenges, studying these mechanisms might provide great insight into disease, propelling him into a career devoted to chronicling them. He is particularly celebrated for his work on one particular pathway — the workhorse repair mechanism which corrects the most common forms of damage, DNA single strand breaks.

In he was appointed Director of a new outpost of the institute, at Clare Hall on the edge of London. These small laboratories could only house 10 research groups, but Professor Lindahl assembled a formidable team of the brightest minds and rising star researchers, focussing their efforts on mechanistic studies of the various aspects of DNA and chromosome damage and repair, alongside replication, transcription and cell cycle control.

Tomas lindahl biography channel youtube: Nobel Prize lectures in.

Understanding DNA repair has already made a huge impact. And it is clear this is just the beginning, with several new treatments now in clinical trials. And understanding that tumour cells can use DNA repair mechanisms as a defence against chemotherapy and radiotherapy has led to the pursuit of co-targeting strategies that are helping to challenge therapeutic resistance.