Madhavan Krishnan Nair (English: Madhavan Krishnan Nair, born- 1939; died- October 28, 2021) was an eminent oncologist and the founding director of the Regional Cancer Centre. He served as a member of the expert group that prepared India’s National Cancer Control Plan. He also served on the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Advisory Panel on Cancer. The Government of India awarded Madhavan Krishnan Nair the Padma Shri for his work in medicine in 2001.
Dr. Madhavan Krishnan Nair died on October 28, 2021. He was 81 years old and suffering from age-related ailments. Madhavan Krishnan Nair is known for his various path-breaking initiatives in the field of cancer treatment, especially community and pediatric oncology, and his efforts to make expensive cancer treatment affordable for poor people. He was instrumental in opening the pediatric branch at RCC in the 1980s and was instrumental in setting up a community and preventive oncology department there to spread awareness about the disease. He also served as a member of the National Cancer Control Plan and the Expert Advisory Committee on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO). He was a resident of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. Madhavan Krishnan Nair obtained his MBBS degree from the Government Medical College in the 1960s and became a ‘Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists’ (FRCR) in ‘Clinical Oncology’ from the Royal College of Radiologists in London. Apart from Padma Shri, Dr. Madhavan Krishnan Nair was awarded many other awards including ‘Pashupati Nath Wahi Cancer Award’, ‘Bhishmacharya Award’ etc.
