Grandson of Quaid’s physician conferred with top US honour

Mark Humayun receives National Medal of Technology and Innovation from US President Barack Obama

The grandson of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s personal physician received top US honours in the fields of science, technology and innovation on Friday.

Mark Humayun was honoured with National Medal of Technology and Innovation from US President Barack Obama for invention, development and application of bioelectronics in medicine.

The achievement included a retinal prosthesis for restoring vision to the blind, thereby significantly improving patients’ quality of life.



As a co-inventor of Argus Series retina implants aimed at restoring sight to the blind, Humayun was the only ophthalmologist to have been elected a member of both US National Academies of Medicine and Engineering.

Addressing the award ceremony, Obama said Humayun’s invention was inspired by his grandmother’s illness.

“When his diabetic grandmother lost her vision, he began studying to become an ophthalmologist, hoping he could save the sight of others," adding, "Humayun helped create the ‘Argus II’, a ‘bionic eye’ that has restored vision to patients who’ve been blind for up to 50 years.”



“He says the moment when he witnessed someone seeing light and shapes, someone experiencing the miracle of sight for the first time in decades — those moments have been some of the happiest and most rewarding of his professional career. In his words — and I think no pun is intended — there wasn’t a dry eye in the operating room,” Obama added.

After partition, Humayun’s family had migrated from Jalandhar to Pakistan, with his grandfather Colonel Ilahi Bakhsh becoming Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s personal physician. Humayun’s family moved to Pakistan in 1972 when he was nine years old.

Among 15 others, 65-year-old Indian Rakesh Jain of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital was also among the recipients of the award.

He was nominated for the honours for his role in developing novel strategies for manipulating tumours and translating these into improved cancer detection, prevention and treatment in humans.

The article first appeared on The Hindu.