Michiaki Takahashi
Michiaki Takahashi (高橋 理明, Takahashi Michiaki, 1928 – December 16, 2013) was a Japanese virologist, known for having attenuated the varicella zoster virus to produce the Oka vaccine strain of live, attenuated varicella vaccine.
Life
Takahashi earned his MD in 1954 from Osaka University's Medical School, and completed in 1959 the Graduate Course of Medical Science, majoring in poxvirus virology.[1] Between 1963 and 1965 he studied at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, and at the Fels Research Institute of Temple University, in Pennsylvania.[2]
After retirement from Osaka University, he was given the title professor emeritus.
He died on December 16, 2013 from heart failure.[3]
Awards
- VZVRF's third Scientific Achievement Award (1997)
- Prince Mahidol Award (2008)
Honors
There is a prize called in his honor: The Japanese Society for Vaccinology Takahashi Prize, founded in October 2005.[4]
References
- Vaccine development.
- Artenstein, Andrew W., ed. (2010). Vaccines: A Biography. Springer. p. 267.
- "訃報:高橋理明さん85歳=大阪大名誉教授、ウイルス学" (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
- "高橋賞" (in Japanese). The Japanese Society for Vaccinology website. Retrieved December 19, 2013.