Mechanism, measurement and significance of oxidative DNA damage - a tribute to Miral Dizdaroglu

PURPOSE: To explain the multiple high level scientific contributions of Miral Dizdaroglu to our understanding of oxidatively generated DNA damage, which plays a pivotal role in radiation chemistry and multiple human diseases, especially cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature review of Miral's contributions and his interactions with my research group. RESULTS: Miral was a pioneer in understanding the mechanisms, measurement and repair of damage to DNA (and, more recently, RNA) by free radicals and other reactive oxygen species (ROS), initially in radiation systems and later in biological systems, including the human body. My research group learned an enormous amount from him when I was privileged to work together with him and publish multiple joint papers. In this review, I describe the history of the field from my perspective and describe several of Miral's fundamental contributions, as well as some of the controversies surrounding his work. CONCLUSION: Miral's research contributions were outstanding, and we have lost a major contributor to the field of oxidatively generated damage to nucleic acids.