Dr. Raymond Hakim honours his late wife, Catherine, with a chair in Nephrology

At the official unveiling of the Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Chair in Medicine are (left to right): Dr. Andrey Cybulsky, Dr. Raymond Hakim, Dr. David Eidelman, Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Dr. Richard Levin, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. June 1, 2007.
Owen Egan

For Dr. Raymond Hakim, MDCM’76, McGill has always been a family affair. His brother is a neurologist who worked for many years at the Montreal Neurological Institute, and his sister earned a Bachelor of Science from McGill in 1974. More recently, Dr. Hakim’s two nieces attended McGill, both earning degrees from the Faculty of Science.

Dr. Hakim himself is now the chief medical officer and senior executive vice-president of Fresenius Medical Care North America, the largest integrated provider of products and services for individuals with chronic kidney failure, a condition that affects more than 1.4 million individuals worldwide.

Yet despite living in Tennessee, more than 1,000 miles away, he hasn’t forgotten his ties to Montreal. Gratitude to his alma mater, combined with a desire to honour the memory of his late wife, prompted Dr. Hakim to create the Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Chair in Medicine in McGill’s Nephrology Division.

“The Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Chair comes at a time when the Faculty of Medicine is experiencing unprecedented growth and is garnering international attention for its many achievements in teaching and research,” says the Faculty’s Dean, Dr. Richard Levin.

The first holder of the chair is Dr. Andrey V. Cybulsky, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Nephrology Division, which provides patient care, conducts research and oversees teaching in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease.

“I sincerely thank Dr. Hakim and his family for their generous support. The endowment they have created will enhance the profile of the Nephrology Division and help us maintain and acquire the expertise needed to fight chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure,” says Dr. Cybulsky.

An estimated two million Canadians have kidney disease or are at risk of developing the illness. Each day, about 14 Canadians learn that their kidneys have failed — a condition that can prove fatal if not treated immediately. The Catherine McLaughlin Hakim chair will provide a major boost to Canadian research in this important field and ensure that McGill leads the way.

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Page last updated:
Nov. 14, 2007 at 12:12 PM