Tak Wah Mak
Tak Wah Mak | |
|---|---|
| Born | 麦德华, Mài Déhuá October 4, 1946 Guangzhou, China |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Education | Wah Yan College, Kowloon University of Wisconsin University of Alberta |
| Known for | Discovery of the T-cell receptor
Discovery of the function of CTLA-4 Founder of Agios Pharmaceuticals |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry Immunology Biology |
| Institutions | Princess Margaret Cancer Centre University Health Network University of Toronto |
| Academic advisors | Howard Martin Temin Ernest McCulloch James Till |
Tak Wah Mak, OC OOnt FRS FRSC (simplified Chinese: 麦德华; traditional Chinese: 麥德華; pinyin: Mài Déhuá; born October 4, 1946, in China) is a Canadian medical researcher, geneticist, oncologist, and biochemist. He first became widely known for his discovery of the T-cell receptor in 1983 and pioneering work in the genetics of immunology. In 1995, Mak published a landmark paper on the discovery of the function of the immune checkpoint protein CTLA-4, thus opening the path for immunotherapy/checkpoint inhibitors as a means of cancer treatment. Mak is also the founder of Agios Pharmaceuticals, whose lead compound, IDHIFA®, was approved by the FDA for acute myeloid leukemia in August 2017, becoming the first drug specifically targeting cancer metabolism to be used for cancer treatment. He has worked in a variety of areas including biochemistry, immunology, and cancer genetics.