[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.