Tak mak lab
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Professor Tak-Wah Mak, PhD
Director of the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Senior Staff Scientist of Ontario Cancer Institute, University Health Network
University Professor of Departments of Medical Biophysics and Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Biography
Professor Tak-Wah Mak is the Director of the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Senior Staff Scientist of Ontario Cancer Institute, University Health Network and the University Professor of Departments of Medical Biophysics and Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Professor Mak’s research interests center on immune cell recognition/regulation, molecular mechanisms underlying the survival and death of normal or malignant cells, as well as the role of inflammation in the progression of autoimmune disease and cancer. He is best known as the lead scientist of the group that first cloned the genes of the human T cell antigen receptor, a discovery that provided essential insights i
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Genome Giants – Tak Mak, Senior Scientist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Tak Mak is a world leader in the genetics of immunology and cancer. He is currently a Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre as well as a Full Professor at the Universities of Toronto and Hong Kong. He is widely known for his cloning of the human T cell receptor beta chain gene in 1984, and his team’s discovery of the function of the immune checkpoint protein CTLA-4 in 1995. Dr. Mak is also the co-founder of Agios Pharmaceuticals, which specialises in developing innovative anti-cancer agents. Dr. Mak’s contributions to important research in biochemistry, immunology and cancer make him truly a Genome Giant.
Please note the transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
FLG: Hello everyone and welcome to the latest Genome Giants interview. Today, we are joined by Tak Mak, who is a pioneer in the genetics of immunology and cancer. So, before we go back and take a look at your career, Tak, can you just introduce yourself and tell everyone a little about what you do?
1946 – present Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Infectious Disease, Allergy & Immunity, Cancer Dr. Tak Wah Mak was born in 1946 in Southern China and was raised in Hong Kong. He went on to study biochemistry and biophysics at the University of Wisconsin, obtaining his Master of Science (MSc) in 1969. He continued his education at the University of Alberta, earning his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1973. Afterwards, he moved to Toronto where he became a Canadian citizen and has been a Medical Biophysics and Immunology professor at the University of Toronto since 1984. Throughout his career, Dr. Tak Wah Mak has received numerous awards and honours for his outstanding contributions to science and medicine. These include the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Kyoto Prize in Basic Science, the National Cancer Institute of Canada’s Diamond Jubilee Award, and his inclusion into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. As of March 2023, Dr. Mak was awarded the Pezcoller Foundation-Amer
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52 Tak Wah Mak
Dr. Tak Wah Mak
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