Professor Tak Wah Mak visits USTC and attends Master Forum

Prof. Tak Wah Mak, the Academician of the US National Academy of Sciences, invited by USTC, came for a visit and attended Master Forum. This world-renowned immunologist and oncologist delivered a fascinating lecture on future anti-tumor therapies, titled “Future Anti-Cancer Targets: Put the Carts Before the Horses”, emphasizing that more attention should be moved from oncogenes to target tumor cells. The lecture was held by Prof. TIAN Zhigang, Director of the Institute of Immunology, and Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine.



Prof. Mak started his lecture with an introduction to tumor surgery and chemotherapy to narrate the history of tumor treatment. He drew an interesting analogy, comparing the generation and development of tumors to a rushing horse-drawn carriage, whereas, a large amount of research has focused on oncogenes, which, in his comparison, is just like the horses. Those studies intended to treat cancers by inhibiting the growth and metastasis of tumor cells. Thus, Prof. Mak reckons that more attention should be paid to carts, the main part of the carriage, which represents target genes that play a role in preserving tumor cells.



He aptly quoted a concept from ancient Chinese philosophy, the balance and harmony of Yin and Yang, to elaborate on the dialectical relationship between immunity and tumor. In addition, he also pointed out the future trajectory of tumor treatment, which would be targeting oxidative stress, DNA damage repair, the activation of immunity, and the imbalance of homeostasis. He described that in these three fields, his team has been conducting relevant research and developing drugs. For instance, inhibiting glutathione and thioredoxin antioxidant pathways to inhibit tumor progression, targeting isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutations in human acute myeloid leukemia and cholangiocarcinoma and glioma, and so on.



The remarkable lecture was a resounding success, igniting the academic enthusiasm of the audience. At the end of the meeting, by quoting a Chinese aphorism, “If you want to go fast, go alone; If you want to go far, go together”, Prof. Mak encouraged students to cooperate on their path to the peak of science so that pursue excellence and realize a win-win outcome.