“We need to understand the pathophysiology of chronic complex diseases,” a saying that Professor Qutayba Hamid followed throughout his scientific career. This allowed him to navigate through the intra-cellular heterogeneity present in many of the respiratory diseases including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in career spanning 45 years in basic and clinical research. He was a world-renowned scientist and physician specialized in respiratory medicine, particularly in the study of asthma and COPD. Professor Qutayba Hamid was born in Mosul, Iraq. He graduated with MBBS medical degree from the University of Mosul before completing his PhD at Imperial College London. During early 1990s, he moved to McGill University, Canada where he spend two decades there holding the Strauss Chair in Respiratory Medicine and serving as the Director of the Meakins-Christie Laboratories from 2008 to 2015. In 2015, he was appointed as Vice Chancellor for Medical and Health Sciences and the Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. He is widely recognized for his landmark research into airway inflammation. He developed and championed the “United Airway Disease” concept where the upper (nose and sinuses) and lower (bronchi and lungs) airways represent a single, interconnected functional unit, sharing a common inflammatory pathway. The conditions such as asthma and allergic rhinitis frequently co-exist, with upper airway inflammation often driving or worsening lower airway dysfunction1,2. This concept helped in the deeper understanding of complex respiratory diseases such as rhinosinusitis, COPD, and asthma as well as other respiratory allergies. In addition, his research also included work on respiratory diseases caused by pathogens including coronavirus disease 2019 which included clinical research studies3-6, and Vitamin D association to respiratory disease7-9. However, it is his work on interleukin 5 expressing cells that paved the way for pharmaceutical companies to develop the biologic therapies currently used to treat severe asthma and eosinophilia10-15. He published over 600 scientific articles and edited major textbooks in respiratory cell and molecular biology. His visionary research and ideas led to many accolades. He was given the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Thoracic Society for outstanding contributions to research and patient care. He held fellowships with the Royal College of Physicians (London and Canada) and the Royal College of Pathologists (UK). In 2013, he was named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada which was awarded for his contribution to respiratory medicine. I was deeply moved by his enthusiasm to research and education during the most difficult period of his illness where he continued to work overcoming the side effect of his treatment and miraculously mastering the energy needed to function as researcher initiating studies, and guiding experimental work as well attending conferences as keynote speaker, and educator mentoring and supervising his students until the end. During his illness, I once asked him before a conference he was meant to attend as a keynote speaker and he replied “Rifat, I need to continue the research into some of the areas I was involved in to help future researchers understand the pathophysiology of asthma as this may help in gaining a better understanding of chronic complex diseases and One day into the future this may finally lead to a cure of such diseases, well at least a cure of asthma.” And he went on, full of enthusiasm about exploring the pathophysiology of asthma at the molecular level and how this can be used to explain the pathophysiology at the cellular and tissue level. That was the spirit of the man, whose enthusiasm for research into the complex mechanism of respiratory diseases never faltered. Professor Qutayba Hamid’s contributions to respiratory disease research and science are truly inspiring. His research work has advanced our understanding of respiratory health and improved treatments and provided positive impact for countless patients. His groundbreaking research into respiratory diseases opened new avenues for treatment. His mentorship and inspiration to students and colleagues shaped future scientists. His contributions to the scientific communities and academic leadership advanced global health initiatives and future care providers. Professor Qutayba Hamid was well known not only for his professional drive, “can do” attitude, and scientific accomplishments, but also for his good-natured humor and ability to bring people together. He was truly a “force of nature” whose personal and professional influence has been both far-reaching and impactful. Professor Qutayba Hamid’s legacy in respiratory research will continue to breathe life into future discoveries. His dedication to science and humanity left a lasting positive impact which his students and colleagues will continue to foster and develop for the benefit of humanity. Author’s contribution The author is the sole contributor to the conception, design, and writing of this manuscript. The author is responsible for the scientific content and integrity of this study. Data availability statement Data will be available upon request. Financial support and sponsorship Not applicable. Conflict of interests RH is an editorial member of the Advances in Biomedical and Health Sciences Journal. No conflict of interests declared.
Rifat Hamoudi (Wed,) studied this question.
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