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Faculty-Invited Speaker: Dr. Tak Mak
January 2 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Dr. Tak Mak will be delivering a talk on January 2, 2024 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm in the MSL Seminar room (MSL 102). This visit has been organized by Professor Wilf Jefferies, and is co-hosted by MSL and the Centre for Blood Research. There will be an opportunity for trainees to meet with Dr. Mak after the seminar in MSL 226, if you have any questions about this please email wilf@msl.ubc.ca.
If you are unable to attend in person, the talk will be presented in a hybrid format, and we invite you to register at the following Zoom link: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5Ekd-ytrj8tHNEnTzkxM92seWusGRSvkZUK.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Talk title: Metabolic and Neural Regulations of Immunity and Cancer
Dr. Mak is a Senior Scientist with the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at the University Health Network. He is also the Director of The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, and a Professor in the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Mak made the foundational discovery of the T-lymphocyte receptor in 1983. His current research spans various topics, including connections between the brain and the immune system, as well as oncogenesis. Dr. Mak’s current research explores the intricate connection between the brain and the immune system, emphasizing the role of acetylcholine (ACh) produced by T and B lymphocytes. His ongoing investigations examine the links between ACh and autoimmune diseases, decipher ACh’s coordination of T and B lymphocyte interactions for antibody production, and explore its involvement in T lymphocyte development and thymic selection. In addition, Dr. Mak’s recent findings unveiled the collaboration between PTEN and ATM in regulating hematopoietic stem cell fitness, quiescence, and the G1/S cell cycle checkpoint, impacting tumorigenesis in HER2+ breast cancer. Now, the focus is on unraveling the role of PTEN SUMOylation in hematopoiesis and DNA damage response (DDR), understanding the cGAS/STING pathway’s function in genotoxic stress response, and dissecting the contributions of nuclear PTEN and cGAS to leukemogenesis.
