Tomas Lindahl

Tomas Lindahl 0113

Tomas Lindahl (born 28 January 1938) is a Swedish-born British scientist specializing in the field of biochemistry. He is renowned for his groundbreaking research on the mechanisms of DNA repair, which has significantly contributed to our understanding of the maintenance of genomic stability.

Early Life and Education

Tomas Lindahl was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He completed his medical degree and doctorate at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. His early research focused on the stability of nucleic acids.

Career and Research

Lindahl's career has been marked by significant contributions to the field of molecular biology. He worked at the Karolinska Institute before moving to the United Kingdom in the 1970s. In the UK, he joined the Clare Hall Laboratories of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now part of the Francis Crick Institute).

Lindahl's most notable work involves the discovery of the inherent instability of DNA and the identification of various DNA repair mechanisms. His research demonstrated that DNA decays at a rate that would make the development of life impossible without efficient repair processes. He identified and characterized several key enzymes involved in base excision repair, a critical pathway for repairing small-scale damage to DNA.

Awards and Honors

Tomas Lindahl has received numerous awards for his contributions to science, including:

• The Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015, which he shared with Paul L. Modrich and Aziz Sancar for their mechanistic studies of DNA repair.
• The Royal Society's Royal Medal in 2007.
• The Copley Medal in 2010.

Personal Life

Lindahl is married and has children. He continues to be active in the scientific community, contributing to various research projects and mentoring young scientists.

See Also

• DNA repair
• Base excision repair
• Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Francis Crick Institute
• Karolinska Institute