Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Waliul Khan

Dr. Waliul Khan is a Professor and Division Lead of Clinical Pathology of the Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine at McMaster University. He is also working as Clinical Scientist/Immunologist at Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program (HRLMP) of Hamilton Health Sciences, and as a Principal Investigator at Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute of McMaster University. His research interests include mucosal inflammation, immunology, and host defense in gut. His research findings are published in leading international journals which include Nature Communications, Science Advances, Nature Medicine, Gastroenterology, Gut, Cellular & Molecular Gastroenterology & Hepatology (CMGH), Nature Immunology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Journal of Immunology and Mucosal Immunology. His research is currently supported by CIHR, NSERC and CFI. Dr. Khan received several prestigious academic awards which include Canadian Association of Gastroenterology/Crohn’s & Colitis Canada/CIHR -Faculty Transition Grant, Wellcome Trust (UK) International Fellowship, Japanese Society of Promotion of Science (JSPS) Award and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Investigator Award.

Q. What is your specialty and why did you choose it?
A. “Immunology. It is an amazingly exciting area of the medical sciences. Immunology is at the forefront of medical sciences and in recent years steered to some major breakthroughs in biomedical research, and in health care which include development of new diagnostic tools, vaccines, and immunotherapy.  It provides opportunity to work in different areas of medical research and clinical services.  I became attracted to this speciality mainly for couple of reasons.  Firstly, it is a challenging and constantly evolving field where so much is still unknown and I like challenging tasks, and secondly it offers the combination of opportunities, varying between research, clinical services, and teaching.”

Q. What is your favorite aspect of your position?
A. “To have the opportunities to take part concurrently in basic medical research, and clinical laboratory services, and broad array of educational activities. I enjoy working in these areas of academia and clinical services very much.”