Zoltán Takács is a Hungarian-born toxinologist and tropical adventurer specializing in venomous snakes and snake venoms. He is a National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer.[1][2]
Takacs holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Columbia University.[1] As a faculty at the University of Chicago[3] he co-invented the designer toxin technology, which creates a large number of animal toxin variants and screens for those that bind to a potential drug target.[4][5] His other main research area is why cobras and sea snakes are resistant to their own venom.[6][7]
At Columbia University, Takacs served as an Earth Institute Fellow,[8] and is a recipient of the National Geographic Society's Research and Exploration grant. He has been featured on the National Geographic Channel and on the PBS/NOVA series in several snake documentaries.[9][10] Takacs has traveled to 133 countries,[11] is an aircraft pilot, scuba diver, and wildlife photographer.[9]
References edit
- ^ a b "Zoltan Takacs, Herpetologist". National Geographic. 2013-05-13. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ "National Geographic Society Press Room: Press Release Detail". Archived from the original on May 26, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
- ^ "Snake researcher Zoltan Takacs named National Geographic 'Emerging Explorer'". News.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ Takacs Z, Toups M, Kollewe A, Johnson E, Cuello LG, Driessens G, Biancalana M, Koide A, Ponte CG, Perozo E, Gajewski TF, Suarez-Kurtz G, Koide S, Goldstein SA (2009). "A designer ligand specific for Kv1.3 channels from a scorpion neurotoxin-based library". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (52): 22211–22216. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10622211T. doi:10.1073/pnas.0910123106. PMC 2799710. PMID 20007782.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "US2008013385 IDENTIFICATION OF TOXIN LIGANDS". Wipo.int. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ Takacs Zoltan, Wilhelmsen Kirk C., Sorota Steve (2004-05-01). "Cobra (Naja spp. ) Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Exhibits Resistance to Erabu Sea Snake (Laticauda semifasciata) Short-Chain α-Neurotoxin". Journal of Molecular Evolution. 58 (5): 516–526. Bibcode:2004JMolE..58..516T. doi:10.1007/s00239-003-2573-8. PMID 15170255. S2CID 13477735.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Zoltan Takacs, Kirk C. Wilhelmsen and Steve Sorota (2001-06-01). "Snake α-Neurotoxin Binding Site on the Egyptian Cobra (Naja haje) Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Is Conserved". Mbe.oxfordjournals.org. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ "Former EI Fellows". The Earth Institute - Columbia University. 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ a b "Zoltan Takacs". IMDb.
- ^ "NOVA 124; Venom: Nature's Killer". Pbs.org. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ Toxin pioneer. National Geographic Traveler, July–August, 2010 (Vol. 27, No. 5) p. 47.