Professor Lechaim Naggan was born in Tel-Aviv in 1936. He began his medical studies in Geneva, Switzerland (1954-57), and completed them at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in1960, on an academic deferment from military service. He joined the IDF in 1962 as a medical officer and rose through the ranks of the Medical Corps, where he established the Military Health Branch (1970-72). He concluded his military career as deputy commander of the Medical Corps (1972-74).
Professor Naggan also obtained MPH and DrPH degrees (Epidemiology) from the Harvard University School of Public Health (1965-67), and joined the BGU faculty in 1976 as Chair of the Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation Unit. He was Acting Dean between August 1979 and October 1980 and, subsequently, Dean of the FOHS (1982-1986), serving concurrently as head of the Negev Division of Clalit (Kupat Holim) Health Services.
While serving as Dean, Professor Naggan established the Faculty's administrative leadership of vice deans and inaugurated the Basic Sciences Division. He also founded and led the Graduates Program to encourage medical graduates to remain in the Negev, an endeavor that has had a significant impact on the development of family medicine in the Negev and the country as a whole.
Professor Naggan also established a national institute specializing in family medicine (in collaboration with Kupat Holim) and started an academic B.Sc. in Nursing program for working registered nurses. He served as BGU's Vice President and Dean for R&D (1991-98), and during this time was deeply engaged in the integration of immigrant scientists and students, mostly from the former Soviet Union.
Professor Lechaim Naggan was the Herman Kessel Professor of Epidemiology at BGU (endowed 1981) and was elected to the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 1997. In 2014, he received the Life Achievement Award from the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, “in recognition of his contribution to advancing research and teaching of Epidemiology and Public Health.” In addition to these academic achievements, Lechaim Naggan is renowned for his talent as a violinist in amateur chamber music groups.
