Mick Smerdon
Regents Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics
School of Molecular Biosciences
Washington State University
Dr. Smerdon is world-renowned for his groundbreaking research on how the body repairs DNA damage caused by chemicals and UV light. He was one of the first to analyze how DNA repair is influenced by its packing and to recognize that the repair response to genetic signals is controlled by environmental conditions. His seminal papers in Cell, Nature, PNAS and EMBO J have revolutionized understanding of DNA repair and provide a foundation for understanding mechanisms of environmentally induced cancers. He is in the top five percent of extramural NIH grant awardees over the last twenty-five years.