Obituary: Dr. Nabeen C. Nayak (1932–2025)
Former Chairman, Department of Pathology
Former Chief, Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
The entire AIIMS family, the AIIMSONIANS Alumni Association, and the Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, mourn the passing of Dr. Nabeen C. Nayak, a towering figure in Indian pathology, biomedical research, and medical education. His demise marks the end of an era that shaped not only the Department of Pathology at AIIMS but also the trajectory of academic pathology in India and beyond.
Dr. Nayak joined AIIMS on 1 January 1962 as an Assistant Professor of Pathology, a moment fondly recalled by his mentor Professor V. Ramalingaswami as a “New Year’s gift” to the Institute. Over the next more than 27 years, culminating in his tenure as Chairman of Pathology and Chief of the Institute Cancer Hospital (1989), Dr. Nayak played a central role in building AIIMS Pathology into a nationally and internationally respected centre of excellence.
Academic and Institutional Legacy
A visionary academician, Dr. Nayak was among the earliest in India to introduce histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and isotope-based studies into diagnostic pathology and research. His work laid the foundations for several subspecialties at AIIMS, including cytopathology, gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary pathology, neuropathology, renal pathology, and bone pathology, establishing practices that became benchmarks for the country.
Under his leadership, the Department functioned as a cohesive intellectual community with deep clinical integration and an enviable culture of academic rigor and collaboration.
Scientific Contributions
Dr. Nayak’s scientific contributions to liver pathology were seminal. He was internationally acclaimed for his pioneering work on high-altitude sickness, Indian Childhood Cirrhosis, non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis, alpha-fetoprotein biology, and the pathogenesis of hepatitis virus–related chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.
His research provided decisive clinicopathological insights that influenced WHO classifications, global prevention strategies for hepatitis B–related liver cancer, and international vaccination policy. His identification of hepatitis E virus during epidemics in India remains a landmark achievement in hepatology.
Contribution to Medical Education
Equally profound was Dr. Nayak’s impact on medical education. He championed the philosophy that “teaching of pathology is for learning of medicine,” emphasizing patient-centred, clinicopathological correlation.
He played a pivotal role in reforming the MBBS curriculum at AIIMS, advocating a shortened pre-clinical phase, vertical integration, innovative internship models, and—decades ahead of their time—systematic student feedback to evaluate teaching effectiveness. Many of these reforms were later adopted nationally.
Beyond his formidable academic legacy, Dr. Nayak was remembered for his intellectual honesty, disciplined work ethic, and unwavering commitment to institutional values. During the formative decades of AIIMS, he helped nurture a close-knit academic community that thrived not only in scholarship but also in cultural and sporting life, reflecting his belief in holistic institutional growth.
Dr. N. C. Nayak is survived by generations of students, colleagues, and collaborators across the world who continue to draw inspiration from his life and work. The Department of Pathology, AIIMS, and the global pathology fraternity honour his memory with deep gratitude and enduring respect.