Full Circle

Suresh G. Nair, MD ’84
Physician-in-Chief
Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute

In August, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) joined Jefferson Health, placing the combined system among the top 15 largest not-for-profit health systems in the U.S., with 32 hospitals and more than 700 sites of care.

For devoted Jefferson alum and physician-in-chief of the LVHN Topper Cancer Institute Suresh G. Nair, MD, ’84, this exciting development is what can only be described as a “full circle moment.”

Nair was born in India, where his life took a turn when he was just three. Given the opportunity to study in the U.S., his father pursued his PhD in chemistry at Iowa State University. His mother joined him there, earning her master’s degree in nutrition. Meanwhile, Nair and his younger sister stayed in India, raised by both sets of grandparents. After returning three years later, Nair’s father worked as a research chemist for the Atomic Energy Commission, helping to purify molybdenum for nuclear energy. Nair and his sister started at a school where everything was taught in English.

However, soon after being reunited, tragedy struck. Nair’s beloved maternal grandmother developed an aggressive form of uterine cancer and passed away after only a month. They had been extremely close, and six-year-old Nair was devastated. “I became withdrawn,” he says. “I remember asking my mom questions, and she said, ‘There’s all this mystery around cancer, and it’s something you can’t do anything about.’”

In contrast, his father was hopeful, telling him how America was so advanced in science, he was sure they were going to figure out cancer. “I remember saying that I’d like to be part of research and help people with cancer,” Nair says. “My father said, ‘You should consider medicine.’”

At age 11, Nair and his family permanently moved to the U.S. After six months in elementary school in the south side of Chicago, Illinois, the family moved to York, Pennsylvania, the place where molybdenum was purified to be sent to all East Coast markets. “My dad’s dream was always to permanently immigrate to the U.S.,” he shares. “Luckily, he got a job right in his narrow field.”

While in high school, Nair exhibited a strong aptitude for science and math. He first learned about Jefferson’s Accelerated Premedical-Medical Program with Penn State while taking advanced college-level courses at the school’s campus in York. Even after being accepted early decision to attend MIT, then his dream school, it was a visit to Penn State’s main campus that changed his life. He explains, “I came home and said, ‘Dad, I don’t know about going to Boston after seeing the Penn State campus.’ We knew Jefferson was one of the best medical schools in the country. During my interview the faculty member spoke about Jefferson’s values of empathy, compassion, caring, and bedside manner. I said, ‘I hope I get in here. This is an amazing place.’”

Today, 40 years since his graduation, Nair has fond memories and is grateful for the strong clinical foundation as well as the values instilled in him by his Jefferson education. “The thing that I remember most is how much the patient was at the center of all the teaching,” he says. “It was clear from day one to graduation, whether it was basic science, introduction to clinical medicine, taking a good history and physical, learning to be a good listener, or bedside manner.”

While he was also exposed to many wonderful Jefferson alumni who returned to lecture at the college, Nair is incredibly grateful to one of his most inspirational teachers, post-grad alum Michael J. Mastrangelo, MD, RES ’70, FEL ’71, who is internationally recognized for his patient care and research in melanoma and helped to solidify Nair’s interest in oncology and specializing in melanoma and immunotherapy. 

Following a residency in internal medicine at Geisinger Medical Center, where he met his beloved wife, Terri, a nurse, Nair completed a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of Pittsburgh before returning to Geisinger as a medical oncologist. He advanced to lead research for Geisinger, connecting with the Mayo Clinic’s clinical trials group, where he was promoted to the group’s national community chair. “Over time, I began to develop a subspecialty interest in melanoma immunotherapy,” he shares.

After 14 years at Geisinger, LVHN came calling, looking for a very specific recruit. “They were moving in a more academic direction and wanted someone to start a hematology fellowship and lead clinical trials,” Nair says. “That was right in my niche.” He didn’t waste any time, initially starting a fellowship in conjunction with Hershey Medical Center; and after 10 years creating a successful fellowship at LVHN that has already graduated 20 fellows. Nair led the program for five years before stepping down while remaining part of the core faculty.

“My Jefferson education has always been the launching point for all of my successes,” he says. Becoming involved with the National Cancer Institute early on in his career, he began collaborating on clinical trial research in his community. When Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center chose LVHN as one of its three national research partners, it was recommended that LVHN develop an institute model and that he be named as physician-in-chief of the Cancer Institute, a role he has proudly held for eight years. In that time, he has continued his patient care and research, published about 80 papers, and mentored nearly 40 oncologists within the Institute, which has doubled in size under his leadership.