Dr. Michiaki Takahashi: Google Doodle celebrates the 94th birthday of a Japanese virologist, who developed the first vaccine against chickenpox

Google Doodle celebrates the 94th birthday of a Japanese virologist Dr. Michiaki Takahashi (高橋 理明), who developed the first vaccine against chickenpox, on February 17, 2022.

Who was Dr. Michiaki Takahashi (高橋 理明)?

Michiaki Takahashi was born on 17th February 1928 in Osaka, Japan. He was a Japanese virologist, known for having attenuated the varicella-zoster virus to produce the Oka vaccine strain of live, lessened varicella immunization.

Michiaki Takahashi (高橋 理明) procured his medical degree (MD) in 1954 from Osaka University’s Medical School, and finished in 1959 the Graduate Course of Medical Science, studying poxvirus virology. After studying measles and polio viruses, Dr. Takahashi accepted a research fellowship in 1963 at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas in the United States.

Somewhere in the range of 1963 and 1965 he studied at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, and at the Fels Research Institute of Temple University, in Pennsylvania. It was during this time that his son developed a serious outbreak of chickenpox, leading him to turn his skill toward battling the exceptionally transmissible illness.

Dr. Michiaki Takahashi got back to Japan in 1965 and started refined live however weakened chickenpox viruses in animal and human tissue. After just five short years of development, it was ready for clinical preliminaries. In 1974, Dr. Takahashi had developed the first vaccine focusing on the varicella virus that causes chickenpox.

It was hence subjected to rigorous research with immunosuppressed patients and was shown to be very successful. In 1986, the Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University started the rollout in Japan as the only varicella vaccine approved by the World Health Organization.

After retirement from Osaka University, Dr. Michiaki Takahashi was given the title professor emeritus.

Dr. Michiaki Takahashi (高橋 理明) developed the first vaccine against chickenpox. Takahashi’s vaccine has since been directed to a large number of children around the world as a compelling measure to prevent severe cases of infectious viral disease and its transmission.

After Professor Takahashi found the chickenpox vaccine, it was used worldwide to prevent chickenpox. The vaccine lessens blood and mental distress in patients and decreases mortality in chickenpox patients, particularly among a huge number of children from around the world.

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

Dr. Michiaki Takahashi (高橋 理明) died on December 16, 2013, from heart failure.

Dr. Michiaki Takahashi’s lifesaving vaccine was soon used in over 80 countries. In 1994, he was designated the director of Osaka University’s Microbial Disease Study Group-a position he held until his retirement. Because of his developments, a large number of cases of chickenpox are prevented every year.

On February 17, 2022, Google featured a Doodle on its homepage to celebrate the 94th Birthday of Dr. Michiaki Takahashi (高橋 理明).