Indian-origin doctor Bobby Mukkamala to head US Medical Body

Washington: In a historic moment, Indian-origin physician Dr Bobby Mukkamala has been sworn in as the 180th president of the American Medical Association (AMA), becoming the first physician of Indian heritage to lead the prestigious organisation.   

Mukkamala, an otolaryngologist - an ear, nose, and throat specialist - took the oath on Tuesday, according to a statement by the association.   

His election marks the first time in the organisation's 178-year history that a person of Indian origin has been chosen to lead it. But the appointment comes after an overwhelming fight that he won after battling with his health for months.

According to the PTI report, Mukkamala has been active in the AMA since residency and is chair of the organisation's Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force.   

He was diagnosed with an 8-cm brain tumour last November.  

“A few months ago, I didn’t know if this night would even be possible,” the release quoted him as saying.

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He played a central role in the response to the water crisis in his hometown of Flint, Michigan -- where his parents settled after moving from India in the early 1970s.   

"The son of two immigrant physicians, Dr. Mukkamala was inspired to go into medicine and return to his hometown of Flint to serve the community that welcomed his family decades before," said the statement.  

Mukkamala also served as chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint with a focus on funding projects to mitigate the effects of lead on children.   

He is a past recipient of the AMA Foundation’s “Excellence in Medicine” Leadership Award and was elected to the AMA Council on Science and Public Health in 2009. He also served as its chair from 2016 to 2017 before being elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 2017 and 2021, reports PTI.

Mukkamala graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed his residency at Loyola University Medical Centre in Chicago. Today, he shares an office with his wife, Nita Kulkarni, M.D., an obstetrician-gynaecologist. Together, they established the Endowed Health Professions Scholarships at the University of Michigan, Flint, in 2012. They have two adult children, Nikhil, a biomedical engineer, and Deven, a PhD candidate in political science.

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