The Google Doodle today marked the 94th birth anniversary of Dr Michiaki Takahashi, a Japanese virologist who developed the first vaccine against chickenpox. 

Illustrated by Japan-based guest artist Tatsuro Kiuchi, the doodle pays tribute to Dr Michiaki Takahashi’s immense efforts in developing the vaccine.

Born in Tokyo in 1928, Dr Takahashi earned his medical degree from Osaka University and joined the Research Institute for Microbial Disease in 1959. He studied measles and polioviruses and accepted a research fellowship in 1963 at Baylor College in the US. During this period, his son developed chickenpox disease, which led the Japanese researcher to find a solution. 

In 1965, Dr Takahashi began culturing live but weakened chickenpox viruses in animal and human tissue. In 1974, the first vaccine ‘Oka’ was developed targeting the varicella virus that causes chickenpox. The vaccine was proven to be extremely effective. 

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In 1986, the Research Foundation for Microbial Disease, Osaka University rolled out the only varicella vaccine approved by the World Health Organisation, in Japan. The vaccine was utilised in over 80 countries and has been administered to millions of children around the world. In 1994, Dr Takahashi was appointed as the director of Osaka University’s Microbial Disease Study Group, a position he held until his retirement. Dr Michiaki Takahashi died of cardiac arrest in Osaka on 2013. 

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