Dr Michiaki Takahashi Wiki: Who Is Dr Michiaki Takahashi And What Is Dr Michiaki Takahashi Famous For?

Dr. Michiaki Takahashi is a Japanese scientist and virologist who developed the world’s first vaccine for chickenpox.

Born at Higashisumiyoshi-Ku, Osaka, Japan, on February 17, 1928, 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 Philadelphia.

The experience of watching his eldest son, Teruyuki, suffer from chickenpox while studying in the U.S. led him to begin the development of a chickenpox vaccine in 1971.

The research was extremely difficult but was completed in 1973. In 1984, the vaccine was certified by the WHO as the most suitable chickenpox vaccine, and in 1986, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare approved it for practical use in countries around the world.

After retirement from Osaka University, he was given the title professor emeritus.

He died on December 16, 2013, from heart failure.

Takahashi is famous for developing the varicella vaccine for chickenpox; and his research on measles and polio vaccines.