Tak Wah Mak

Biography

Dr. Tak Wah Mak, Ph.D., D.Sc., FRSC serves as a Scientific Partner of Aravis SA life sciences. Dr. Mak is a Co-Founder of Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He is best known for his discovery of the T-Cell receptor in 1984 and uses his knowledge for the creation and use of transgenic mice in Immunopathology and cancer. He co-founded Miikana Therapeutics Inc. in 2002. He serves as a Scientific Advisor to a number of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Mak served as Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board at CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since July 2006. He serves as a Member of the Board of Directors at Integrative Proteomics. He serves as a Member of Scientific Advisory Board at Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He served as a Member of Scientific Advisory Board at Immune Disease Institute, Inc. He serves as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Kalypsys and the Lombard Odier Immunology Fund. He serves as Member of Scientific Advisory Board at Symphogen A/S. He serves as a Member of Scientific Advisory Council at Cancer Research Institute, Inc. He served as Director of Affinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He was a Member of Scientific Advisory Board at Affibody Holding AB. Dr. Mak served as a Director of CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. since February 2012 until June 02, 2016. Dr. Mak is the Director of the Campbell Family Institute of the Princess Margaret Hospital and a Professor of Immunology at the University of Toronto. He has received numerous international awards including the Sloan Prize of the General Motors Cancer Foundation, Gairdner International Award, King Faisal International Prize for Medicine, Novartis Prize in Immunology and the Paul Ehrlich Prize. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of London and a Foreign Associate of the U.S.A. National Academy of Sciences. He holds a Ph.D.

Research Interest

His research is concentrated on gaining fundamental knowledge of the biology of cells in normal and disease settings. We have chosen to focus on the mechanisms underlying immune responses and tumorigenesis. With this broad agenda in mind, we have initiated several complementary programs. Many of these projects have evolved from the production and analysis of genetically engineered mouse strains.