Michiaki Takahashi


Michiaki Takahashi 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. Between 1963 and 1965 he studied at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, and at the Fels Research Institute of Temple University, in Pennsylvania.
After retirement from Osaka University, he was given the title professor emeritus.
He died on December 16, 2013 from heart failure.

Awards

There is a prize called in his honor: The Japanese Society for Vaccinology Takahashi Prize, founded in October 2005.