AllerGen CIC Leader Dr. Parameswaran Nair named Frederick E. Hargreave Teva Innovation Chair in Airway Diseases

AllerGen CIC Leader Dr. Parameswaran Nair named Frederick E. Hargreave Teva Innovation Chair in Airway Diseases

Dr. Parameswaran Nair has been named the inaugural recipient of the Frederick E. Hargreave Teva Innovation Chair in Airway Diseases at McMaster University.

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Dr. Parameswaran Nair

Dr. Nair is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Respirology at McMaster University, a clinician-researcher at the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health at St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, and head of AllerGen’s Severe Asthma CIC (Clinical Investigator Collaborative), where he leads a Canadian-based Phase II clinical trials group evaluating promising new drug molecules for severe asthma.

The Chair was created through a donation from Teva Canada, with matching funds from McMaster’s Department of Medicine, to help support research into airway diseases. Among other criteria for eligibility, the chairholder must contribute in an integral way “towards establishing and maintaining a world-class program in airways diseases research” at McMaster, and must “contribute significantly to the body of scholarship in the area.”

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The late Professor Frederick E. Hargreave

The Chair was created in honour of the late Professor Frederick (Freddy) E. Hargreave, who was an accomplished and influential Canadian pioneer in asthma research and patient care. During his long career at McMaster, Dr. Hargreave was a respected mentor to many current leaders in the field, including Dr. Nair.

“It is indeed a privilege for me to occupy this Chair that is named after Freddy,” says Dr. Nair. “This Chair allows me to continue his legacy of research in respiratory diseases that directly translates into improving the wellbeing of our patients.”

Dr. Nair is also the recipient of the Asthma Society of Canada’s (ASC) 2016 Bastable-Potts Research Prize. This year’s award, valued at $5,000, recognizes innovative research done by a Canadian researcher that adds to the body of knowledge regarding severe asthma.

The award was presented to Dr. Nair on May 6, 2016, as part of the ASC’s Fighting for Breath conference.