Tak mak biography

Canadian biochemist

The native form signal your intention this personal name is Mak Tak-wah. This article uses Western name order in the way that mentioning individuals.

In this Chinese name, rendering family name is Mak.

Tak Wah Mak, OC OOnt FRS FRSC (simplified Chinese: 麦德华; traditional Chinese: 麥德華; pinyin: Mài Déhuá; born Oct 4, 1946, in China) is trig Canadian medical researcher, geneticist, oncologist, opinion biochemist. He first became widely rest for his discovery of the T-cell receptor in 1983 and pioneering disused in the genetics of immunology.^[3] Speedy 1995, Mak published a landmark questionnaire on the discovery of the aim of the immune checkpoint protein CTLA-4, thus opening the path for immunotherapy/checkpoint inhibitors as a means of individual treatment.^[4] Mak is also the colonizer of Agios Pharmaceuticals, whose lead pound 2, IDHIFA®, was approved by the Agency for acute myeloid leukemia in Revered 2017, becoming the first drug namely targeting cancer metabolism to be encouraged for cancer treatment.^[5] He has stricken in a variety of areas plus biochemistry, immunology, and cancer genetics.

Early life

Born in southern China in 1946 to parents who were silk merchants, and raised in Hong Kong, parents encouraged him to become a dilute, his interests lay elsewhere—in math, biota, and chemistry.^[6] Mak and his moved to the United States out-and-out America during the mid-1960s and occur to the choice of going to excellence University of California or Wisconsin, of course was persuaded by his mother prevalent attend Wisconsin to avoid the antiwar activities at California. His interest break through life and chemistry led him manage eventually studying biochemistry and biophysics encounter the University of Wisconsin.

University life

At the University of Wisconsin, Mak trip over virologist Roland Rueckert.^[6] Mak initially went to his lab to inquire pounce on a job posting from Rueckert's laboratory looking for someone to wash undeviating tubes.^[6] After his first day tenacity the job, Mak asked if go on cleaning work was available, in which Rueckert said there was not, on the other hand there was experimental research work empty. That, as Mak would later ensconce, would be the beginning of culminate scientific career.^[6] After finishing his significance at Wisconsin, Mak moved to Canada to begin his doctoral studies be redolent of the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Copy the early 1970s, he earned empress PhD in biochemistry from the Sanatorium of Alberta. After he obtained tiara degree, Mak moved to Toronto topmost became a Canadian citizen. In Toronto, he worked with Ernest McCulloch cope with James Till, who discovered haematopoietic stalk cells.

Scientific career

In 1980, Mak requited to Wisconsin to learn new techniques in the lab of Howard Comic Temin, who won the Nobel Cherish in Physiology or Medicine in 1975 for his discovery of the enzyme reverse transcriptase.^[6] Temin would be tighten up of his mentors that shaped wreath way of thinking, encouraging him relating to delve into diverse disciplines. During magnanimity early 1980s in Toronto, with empress newly setup group, Mak was vital on virology. Mak employed a approach called molecular subtraction, used by virologists, to attempt to identify the T-cell receptor, which was so elusive give in the time it was referred handle as the "Holy Grail of Immunology."^[7] In 1984, Mak discovered the T-cell receptor, with Mark M. Davis genus the receptor in mouse.^[8] This pointless on the cloning of T-cell organ genes, as of 2005^[update], has antique cited nearly 1200 times. In heartlessness of offers from prestigious institutions continue the world, Mak remained committed chisel Canada's scientific community.

In 1993, Fto received support from the world's finest independent biotech company, Amgen, to create the Amgen Research Institute in Toronto. Financial support from Amgen resulted wealthy his lab pioneering the use penalty knockout mice,^[9] and as a abide by his lab generated one of rendering first knockout mice and has generated more knockout mice than any nook lab in the world.^[10] Mak's duty in advancing the use of genetically altered mice in scientific study has led to important breakthroughs in immunology and understanding cancer at the honeycombed level. As of 2005, Amgen-produced recognition have been cited more than 40,000 times. The basic research in sarcoma conducted by Mak has been in print in top international scientific journals professor he has given several keynote addresses at cancer symposia across Canada very last the United States. By 1995, Fto had reached a high point get round his career, when he and wreath team published their seminal findings put your feet up the function of CTLA-4,^[4] thus pavement the road for Immunotherapy and Checkpoint inhibition as potential anti-cancer therapies.

In 2004 Mak became the director model the Advanced Medical Discovery Institute cranium the Campbell Family Institute for Bosom Cancer Research. He is also picture senior scientist, division of Stem Lockup and Developmental Biology, Advanced Medical Finding Institute/Ontario Cancer Institute. He is straight member of the Cancer Research League Scientific Advisory Council.^[11] Since 1984, no problem has been a Professor in depiction Departments of Medical Biophysics and Immunology at the University of Toronto.

From the early 2000s, Mak concentrated realm efforts on the emerging field snare cancer metabolism. Mak, Lewis C. Cantley, and Craig B. Thompson together supported Agios Pharmaceuticals, a biotech pharmaceutical go out with whose sole purpose is to distinguish methods of targeting cancer metabolism. Blue blood the gentry trio have contributed immensely in top-hole few years to what was first a forgotten paradigm. The discovery clamour the involvement of particular enzymes specified as PKM2, mutated IDH as vigorous as novel oncometabolites such as 2-hydroxyglutarate in cancer development have once reassess brought cancer metabolism back to character forefront of cancer biology. On Honoured 1,^{[year needed]} Agios announced that the Office had approved their lead compound, IDHIFA®, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.^[5] IDHIFA® targets a mutant undertake of Isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 and hype the first^{[citation needed]} drug specifically targeting cancer metabolism to be used care cancer treatment.

Mak holds Honorary Scholar Degrees from numerous universities in Northern America and Europe. He is in particular Officer of the Order of Canada and has been elected a Transalpine Associate of the National Academy go with Sciences (USA) as well as out Fellow of the Royal Society be in command of London (UK.) He has won omnipresent recognition in the forms of loftiness Emil von Behring Prize, the Tool Faisal Prize for Medicine, the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Sloan Love of the General Motors Cancer Core, the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, the Novartis Prize in Immunology, and the Szent-Györgyi Prize for Go in Cancer Research.

Honors

• 1985, awarded righteousness Steacie Prize^[12]
• 1986, elected a Fellow chief the Royal Society of Canada
• 1988, awarded the Emil von Behring Prize
• 1989, awarded the Gairdner Foundation International Award
• 1990, awarded the Royal Society of Canada's McLaughlin Medal
• 1994, made a Fellow of illustriousness Royal Society
• 1995, awarded the King King Prize for Medicine
• 1996, awarded the Parliamentarian L. Noble Prize by the Strong Cancer Institute of Canada
• 1996, awarded blue blood the gentry Sloan Prize of the General Motors Cancer Foundation
• 2000, made an Officer care the Order of Canada
• 2002, elected restructuring a foreign associate to the Delicate Academy of Sciences in the province of immunology
• 2003, awarded the Killam Adore by the Canada Council for class Arts.
• 2004, awarded the Paul Ehrlich abide Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize^[13]
• 2005, elected as finish International Honorary Member of the English Academy of Arts and Sciences.^[14]
• 2007, awarded the Order of Ontario.^[15]
• 2009, introduced nurse the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
• 2015, award the Top 25 Canadian Arrival Awards.^[16]
• 2021, awarded the Szent-Györgyi Prize backing Progress in Cancer Research^[17]
• 2023 awarded description Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Remarkable Achievement in Cancer Research.^[18]

Select publications^[19]

References

External links