Pulmonologist by training, Prof JC Suri is a pioneer of critical care and sleep medicine in India. He worked at Safdarjung Hospital from 1984 to 2018, where he was instrumental in creating India’s first holistic Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Department, which he headed from 1990 to 2018. Prof JC Suri set up the first physician run Intensive Care Unit in Northern India with the aim to provide integrated diagnostic, supportive and therapeutic services to critically ill patients. He is also regarded as the father of Sleep Medicine in India and is credited for establishing the first sleep laboratory in the country in 1990.
Prof JC Suri is a compassionate physician with astute clinical skills. In his 37-year professional journey in the field of Pulmonary Medicine, he has managed thousands of patients annually in the in-patient and out-patient setting. He has treated patients ailing from a variety of illnesses including tuberculosis, asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, sarcoidosis, lung cancer, obstructive sleep apnea etc. He also has experience in handling the sickest of patients suffering from various serious medical conditions in the ICU.
Prof JC Suri has been actively involved in education and research. He has been an active proponent of sleep medicine in the country and instituted the Indian Sleep Disorders Association in 1995. Since then he has conducted dozens of sleep medicine courses across the country and has helped in the growth of the specialty in the country. He has conducted numerous training workshops on non-invasive ventilation and critical care medicine for resident doctors as well as faculty members and practicing doctors. He has been invited as a guest speaker for more than 500 national and international conferences. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards and orations.
He had started and designed the curriculum for the first fellowship in Critical Care Medicine in India under the aegis of the National Board of Examinations (FNB Critical Care). He started the DM residency training programme in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) & Safdarjung Hospital in 2010, second only to PGI Chandigarh. He has been an examiner for DNB, MD, FNB and DM examinations in pulmonary and critical care medicine across the country. He has contributed more than 100 research articles. He is the editor-in-chief of the Indian Journal of sleep Medicine and is on the editorial board of various national and international journals.