The grandson of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s personal physician, Mark Humayun, has received United States top honour in the field of technology and innovation by US President Barack Obama
Humayun was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
The medal was awarded for Humayun’s contribution to invention, development, and application of bioelectronics in medicine, including a retinal prosthesis for restoring vision to the blind, thereby significantly improving a patients’ quality of life.
He is the co-inventor of ‘Argus II’ series of retina implants, which restores sight for those suffering from blindness. His invention is inspired by the loss of sight suffered by his grandmother..
“When his diabetic grandmother lost her vision, he began studying to become an ophthalmologist, hoping he could save the sight of others,” said Obama at the White House investiture ceremony.
“Mark helped create the ‘Argus II’, a ‘bionic eye’ that has restored vision to patients who’ve been blind for up to 50 years,” added the US president.
Humayun is also the only ophthalmologist to be elected as a member of both US National Academies of Medicine and Engineering.
Obama elaborated and said the happiest moments in Humayun’s professional career have been when someone experiences the miracle of sight for the first time in decades.
An Indian, Rakesh Jain, was also presented with the National Medal of Science. His contribution was recognised for developing novel strategies for manipulating tumours and using those techniques to improve cancer detection, prevention, and treatment.
Humayun’s family migrated from India’s Jalandhar in 1947, and his grandfather, Colonel Ilahi Bakhsh, was the personal physician for Jinnah. His family moved to the United States in 1972.
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) is the United States’s highest honour for technological achievement, bestowed by the president of the United States on America’s leading innovators.
The medal is awarded annually to individuals, teams (up to four individuals), companies or divisions of companies for their outstanding contributions to America’s economic, environmental and social well-being.
