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{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = M.Krishnan Nair
| birth_place =
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| alma_mater = [[University of Kerala]]
}}
'''M. Krishnan Nair''' is a leading [[oncologist]] working in India. He is the founding director of the [[Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram]], a director of the S.U.T. Institute of Oncology, and Trivandrum Cancer Center(TCC), part of SUT ROYAL HOSPITAL in [[Thiruvananthapuram]](Trivandrum) and a professor at the [[Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre|Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research]] in [[Kochi (India)|Kochi]]. He received the ''[[Padma Shri]]'' award from the [[President of India]].<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2015 |access-date=21 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6U68ulwpb?url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2014 }}</ref>

==Education==
Nair earned his MBBS degree from [[University of Kerala]], India in 1963, then went on to earn a MD ([[Radiotherapy]] and [[Clinician|Clinical]] Oncology) from the [[University of Punjab]] in 1968. In 1972, he earned a [[FRCR]] (Clinical Oncology) from the [[Royal College of Radiologists]] in London.

==Work in India==
{{BLP unsourced section|date=December 2011}}
As founding director of RCC, he was responsible for establishing one of the largest comprehensive cancer centres in India and for initiating programmes in Community [[Oncology]], [[Pain and nociception|Pain]] and [[Palliative Care]], and [[Paediatric]] Oncology for the first time in India. He was a member of the expert group that drew up the [[National Cancer Control Plan]] of India. He served the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) for more than a decade in their Expert Advisory Panel on Cancer. Currently, he is the only member from India on the Advisory Committee of the Director General, [[World Health Organization|WHO]] and [[Cancer Technical Group]] (CTG) of WHO.

He introduced for the first time an institution oriented and extremely inexpensive [[cancer insurance]] plan in India called [[Cancer Care for Life]]. He established five district-level peripheral centres for prevention and early detection and a pain relief and palliative care network with [[Morphine]] availability for [[terminal illness|terminal]] cancer patients.

He implemented a 10-Year Action Plan in [[Kerala]] which reduced tobacco consumption, improved early detection, enhanced therapy facilities, and provided palliative care and pain relief to substantial sections of dying cancer patients. This programme finds mention in [[International Agency for Research on Cancer|IARC]] (''Managerial Guidelines for NCCP'' (2002), ''World Cancer Report'' (2003)), and WHO documents.

He has assisted the World Health Organization as Consultant in several major workshops and meetings such as design modification of [[teletherapy]] machines 1992, preparation of managerial guidelines for cancer control 1994 and 2000, preparation of pain and palliative care guidelines 1994, the Cancer Technical Group meeting 2005, and the Cancer Advisory Group meeting 2005. He has served as the Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre (No.130) since it was established until his retirement in November 2003. He has served as the Short-term Consultant in IARC three times and is a visiting scholar in [[Allegheny General Hospital]], [[Stanford University]], and [[University of Southern California]].

Nationally, he has served as President, Association of Radiation Oncologists of India, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Indian Council of Medical Research, and Member of the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology of the Department of Atomic Energy of India. He has done an exhaustive study on human health effects of background [[radiation]] in [[coast]]al areas of Kerala.

Nair has also published more than 300 papers in the field of medicine.

== Illegal drug trials controversy ==
Between November 1999 and February 2000, while Dr. M. Krishnan Nair was serving as the director, the RCC in association with the [[Johns Hopkins University]] conducted a series of drug trials on 26 patients.<ref>http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=20051216006402800.htm&date=fl2225/&prd=fline& {{deadlink|date=April 2020}}</ref>

This was the theme for a documentary for BBC.{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

Quote from Frontline (2001). (see external links):

''"''AFTER a four-month-long inquiry, the US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has stated what was already quite obvious: that the controversial experiments at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram were the first human trials of the potentially anti-cancer chemicals developed at the Hopkins Biology Laboratory; that those chemicals had not been properly tested in animals before they were tried out on patients at the RCC; that the Biology Professor who conducted the experiments was not qualified or authorised to do experiments involving human subjects; that she did not have the mandatory approvals from the university's institutional review boards authorised to make ethical clearances; that she did not have the US government's approval to export the chemicals used in the trial to India; that the clinical trial conducted at the RCC did not meet the standards for research with human subjects; and that adequate and proper consent was not obtained from the patients before they were made part of the experiments.

On 12 November, JHU announced the much-awaited findings of the inquiry by its faculty investigative committee into the "drug" trial conducted on 26 cancer patients at the RCC between November 1999 and February 2000.

A statement issued by the JHU Office of News and Information said (significantly, without naming the Biology Professor concerned, Dr. Ru Chih Huang) that "one of its scientists" tested experimental cancer drugs on patients in India "without required federal or university approvals and without adequate preliminary tests in animals".''''

However Dr. Krishnan Nair, as the Director of the Institute in India, denied the ethical misconduct even after the report came from Johns Hopkins.<ref name="The Hindu">{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/2001/07/29/stories/0229000n.htm | archive-url=https://archive.today/20141113142654/http://www.thehindu.com/2001/07/29/stories/0229000n.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=2014-11-13 | title=Title unknown | date=2001 | work=[[The Hindu]] | access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref> This case is one of the study materials in Public Health classes in majority of universities in Europe and USA. The Indian Government as well as the Institute (RCC) never admitted any wrongdoing even after the media repeatedly exposed the pain and sufferings of patients who participated in the study. Special interest groups also tried to capitalise the situation for political gains. World Health Organization's data revealed that 2031 people died between 2008–2011 during drug trials in India.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/10-die-per-week-in-drug-trials-in-india/971834/| title= 10 die per week in drug trials in India| date= 8 July 2012}}</ref> However, an independent enquiry commission set up by the Government of India acquitted Dr Nair of any wrongdoing.<ref name="Report">{{cite web | url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/14361/11/11_chapter%204.pdf | title=Report | publisher=Shod Ganga | date=2014 | access-date=13 November 2014}}</ref> Not withstanding the controversy, Dr. Krishnan Nair was honoured with [[Padmashri]] (one of the highest honours in the country) in consideration of his contributions to the cause of cancer care and control.

==Positions held==
*1965–68 Lecturer, [[Medical College, Trivandrum]], Kerala, India
*1969–1971 Assistant Professor, Medical Colleges, Kottayam / Trivandrum, Kerala, India
*1971–1973 Associate Professor, [[Medical College, Trivandrum]], Kerala, India
*1975–1981 Professor of Clinical Oncology and [[Radiotherapy]] Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
*1981–2003 Director, [[Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum]], Kerala, India
*1 February 2004-to date Professor of Clinical Oncology, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kochi, Kerala, India
*February 2004-to date Director and Consultant Clinical Oncologist, SUT Institute of Oncology, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

==Honors and awards==
*Member, Expert Panel on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO)
*President, Association of Radiation Oncologists of India 1984–1986
*Member, Governing Body, Regional Cancer Centre, Guwahati, Assam, Calcutta, and Bangalore
*Member, National Cancer Control Programme Core Committee, 1981–1985
*[[Fellow]] of the Indian College of Radiology (FICR)
*Founder Fellow of the Indian Medical Science Academy (FIMSA)
*Pasupathy Nath Wahi Cancer Award 1988
*Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Sandoz Oration Award in Cancer Research 1989
*Vimala Shah Award of the Banaras Hindu University 1991
*PK Haldar Memorial Oration of association of Radiation Oncologists of India
*''Bhishmacharya Award'' of outstanding contribution in the field of Medicine, 1993
*Leadership Award by Trivandrum Management Association 1994
*Dorab Tata Oration Award (1996) by Indian Society of Oncology
*Roll of Honour (1996) by International Union Against Cancer (UICC), Geneva
*Dr.L.H.Lobo Memorial Oration 1997 by Dr.L.H.Lobo Memorial Trust, Ludhiana
*[[Padma Shri Award]] by [[Government of India]] in 2001

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web | url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/07/29/stories/0229000n.htm | title=Were banned drugs used on patients? | publisher=The Hindu | date=29 July 2001 | access-date=13 November 2014}}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1824/18241140.htm | title=The truth of the 'drug' trials | publisher=Frontline | date=2014 | access-date=13 November 2014}}
* {{cite web | url=http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=health&id=15267&callid=1 | title=Thiruvananthapuram RCC admits to illegal drug trials | publisher=NDTV | date=2001 | access-date=13 November 2014}}
* {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw1zR54PVck | title=Interview on YouTube | publisher=Asianet News | work=YouTube video | date=2012 | access-date=13 November 2014}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Medicine}}
{{Padma Award winners of Kerala}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, M. Krishnan}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian oncologists]]
[[Category:Malayali people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine]]
[[Category:Medical doctors from Thiruvananthapuram]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian medical doctors]]

M. Krishnan Nair (doctor) - Revision history

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