About the Authors
Tak W. Mak, received his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1972 from the University of Alberta after completing undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. In 1997, he was appointed Professor at the University of Toronto. He is also Vice President of Research/Director of The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research. He has co-authored over 350 scientific papers and is a member on numerous advisory boards of scientific journals and medical centers. Dr. Mak is best recognized for the discovery of the T-cell receptor in 1984, and is a leader in the development of knockout mice for the analysis of gene function. He has also made significant contributions in the areas of virology, immunology, genetics, molecular signaling, and cancer biology. His laboratory has ongoing efforts to understand the changes in gene function that occur when cells become cancerous, cell signaling pathways, and the role of apoptosis in development and disease.
Mary E. Saunders, holds the position of Scientific Editor for The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research in Toronto. She completed her B.Sc. degree in Genetics at the University of Guelph, Ontario and received her Ph.D. in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Saunders works with Dr. Mak and members of his laboratory on the writing and editing of scientific papers for peer-reviewed journals as well as on various book projects. She takes pride and pleasure in producing concise, clear, highly readable text and making complex scientific processes readily understandable.