Key Guest Speaker

Plenary Lecture Key Speaker

Tak W. Mak, OC, PhD, DSc (Hons), FRSC, FRS
Senior Staff Scientist, OCI, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at University Health Network
Professor, Department of Medical Biophysics & Immunology
University of Toronto
Co-Director, Centre for Oncology and Immunology
Hong Kong Science Park
Honorary Professor, Department of Pathology
School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine
University of Hong Kong

Tak W. Mak is internationally known for his pioneering work on the genetics and molecular biology of cancer and the immune system. In 1984, his group cloned the gene encoding the human TCRβ chain, providing the basis for CAR-T treatment. His team also showed that CTLA4 negatively regulates T cell activation, paving the way for checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy. Most recently, his team established that the brain communicates with the immune system via T and B cells producing acetylcholine.

In the biotech arena, Dr. Mak co-founded Agios Pharmaceuticals and Treadwell Therapeutics. These companies specialize in delineating metabolic vulnerabilities in tumour cells that can be exploited as novel cancer therapies. Two IDH inhibitors are now FDA-approved for AML treatment, and two first-in-class agents targeting aneuploidy in advanced tumours are now in phase II clinical trials.
   
Dr. Mak has published over 1000 peer-reviewed research papers, holds dozens of patents, and
has won numerous awards.

Key Dates:

1 May 2015

Early Bird Registration Open

1 Aug 2015

Registration Close

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