Miami, Florida October 31, 2002: The Medical Council of The Association of Indians in America (AIA) recently hosted an award banquet in honor of outstanding medical professionals of Indian origin who have excelled in their field of practice at the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, South Florida.

"The Medical Council was established on September 28, 1974 when 160 Indian physicians met with the-then AIA President Professor Manoranjan Dutta in New York" said Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal, the current National President of AIA. The Council did pioneer work under the leadership of Medical Council Chair D.G. Langewar, M.D. during the seventies & eighties to promote the interests of the physicians of Indian origin.

"The Council has instituted two Awards : AIA CHARAKA AWARD for medicine and AIA SUSHRUTA AWARD for surgery," said Shanti S. Agarwal, the current Chair of the Medical Council.

The Charaka Award is named after Charak, a famous Indian physician of Vedic times. He composed Charak Samhita, a compendium of medicine in First century A.D. He described various diseases and attempted a systematic classification of various disorders. Charak Samhita describes in detail signs and symptoms of mental diseases and attempts to offer their etiologic explanation. Many experts consider this a milestone in the evolution of the discipline of psychiatry.

Sushruta Award is named after Sushruta, a prominent teacher, philosopher & surgeon of astounding capabilities. He wrote his monumental treatise, Sushruta Samhita around 1,000 B.C. He organized the medical knowledge into disciplines such as Shalyachikitsa or Surgery, Vesujavigyana or Pharmacology, Nidanatatwa or Pathology, Sharirabritta or Physiology, Shariraasthana or Anatomy, Dhatrividya or Midwifery, and Chakshurogavigyan or Ophthalmology. Sushruta was the first to intuitively recognize the concept of antisepsis and fumigated his operating room with four sulphur fumes prior to all surgical procedures. The genius of Sushruta prompted the eminent surgeon Whipple to declare Sushruta as the greatest surgeon of premedieval time.

This gala event was held to honor individuals of exceptional abilities. The Medical Council also published a Souvenir highlighting the event. The following physicians /surgeons were honored during a black-tie gala event.

Navin C. Nanda

Navin C. Nanda, M.D., is an internationally renowned cardiologist and echo cardiographer. He is a professor of medicine and Director of Heart Station/Echocardiography Laboratories at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Kirklin Clinic, University of Alabama Health Services Foundation at Birmingham, Alabama. He is the current president of the International Society of Cardiovascular Ultrasound, and the editor-in-chief of Echocardiography: A Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound and Allied Techniques. He has served as President of both the First and Second World Congresses of Echocardiography and Vascular Ultrasound held in Nice, France (1994) and in Beijing, China (1996). He has been appointed International President of the Seventh World Congress of Echocardiography and Vascular Ultrasound which is scheduled to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2003.

Dr. Nanda was among the FIRST to pioneer the use of Color Doppler Fluid Mapping and was the first to develop an echocardiography technique to assess pulmonary hypertension and recognize congenital bicuspid valve. He has also done pioneering work on myocardial tissue characterization by two-dimensional echocardiography and more recently on three- and four-dimensional echocardiography and transpharyngeal echocardiography.

Dr. Nanda has received several awards including the first Tufts University Award in echocardiography, a Government of India Life Time Achievement Award and other awards from the Government of Egypt, Brazilian Society of Cardiology, the Chinese Society of Ultrasound in Medicine and Chinese Medical Association. He has been selected for inclusion in the Directory of The Best Doctors in America consistently since 1994 when it was first published.

Dr. Nanda is the author/co-author of over 700 scientific publications including nine books and video-teaching tapes devoted to echocardiography. He has published more books on echocardiography than anyone else in the world.

Dr. Nanda was presented by Karan Munuswamy, M.D. and was conferred Charaka Award.

K. Rajender Reddy

K. Rajender Reddy, M.D., is a professor of medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine at Philadelphia. He is certified by The American Board of Internal Medicine and by The American Board of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Reddy is a Fellow of The American College of Gastroenterology and The American College of Physicians. He is a member of Florida Gastroenterology, American Gastrological Association; American Society of Gastrointestinal endoscopy; and American Association for the study of Liver Diseases. He is currently a member of Research and Awards Committee, The American College of Gastroenterology, and The Current Practice Parameters Committee, AASLD.

Dr. Reddy is on the editorial boards of The American Journal of Gastroenterology, The American Journal of Internal Medicine and nine other national and international journals. He has been invited as guest speaker at more than 30 places in and out of the United States.

Dr. Reddy has published 166 papers in various national and international journals with special emphasis on Liver Disease Ð especially Hepatitis-C. He has contributed chapters in 23 books.

Dr. Reddy was presented by Dr. Durgesh Thaker and was conferred Charaka Award.

Pravin C. Singhal

Pravin C. Singhal, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine at The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York; Chief of Nephrology Division, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New York; and a Professor of Molecular Science at the Institute of Graduate Studies, New York. He is also an established investigator at the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, and Senior Investigator at North Shore Long Island Jewish Research Institute, New York.

Dr. Singhal is recipient of several awards including the International Research Award (Canada); National Research Award; Fellowship of Harvard University, Boston; and Travel Fellowships from The New York Heart Association and from The International Society of Nephrology. He has been getting research grants from the National Institute of Health continuously since 1989.

Dr. Singhal is a Certified Physician by the American Board of Internal Medicine with sub-specialty in Nephrology. He is a fellow of The American College of Physicians; and of The Indian Society of Nephrology. He is a member of The American Society of Nephrology, The American Society of Physiology, The Federation of Clinical Research, The International Society of Nephrology, and The American Society of Hypertension.

Dr. Singhal has published 196 research papers and 300 abstracts in various national and international journals.

Dr. Singhal was presented by Ashok Patel, M.D. and was conferred Charaka Award.

Jayant Radhakrishnan

Jayant Radhakrishnan, M.D., retired as Professor of Surgery and Urology and as Chief of Division of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Illinois in Chicago in September 2000. He is now Co-director of Education at Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago.

Dr. Radhakrishnan's special interest lies in the correction of congenital genito-urinary and ano-rectal anomalies, particularly those affecting the cloaca. It is evident from his six teaching awards and invited participation in board review courses of various disciplines that he plays a major role in surgical education. He has organized CME programs and been a visiting professor at various universities in USA and abroad. Dr. Radhakrishnan has personally demonstrated surgical techniques and he has arranged for American Surgeons to do so at Post Graduate Centers in India.

Dr. Radhakrishnan belongs to numerous national and international societies and served as the President of the Illinois Pediatric Surgical Association from 1988 to 1991. He was a member of the Dean's Circle and the President's Council at the University of Illinois. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the Department of Surgery at the University of Illinois in 1998 and the Leelavati Upadhyaya medal of the Indian Society of Pediatric Urology in 2000. In 2001 and 2002, Chicago magazine Castle & Connolly and The Center for the Study of Service listed him as one of the top doctors in the Chicago area.

Dr. Radhakrishnan has published 87 papers in various national and international journals and has contributed chapters in 12 books.

Dr. Radhakrishnan was presented by Subhash Puranik, M.D. and was conferred Sushruta Award.

Narinder M. Kukar

Narinder Mohan Kukar, M.D. was conferred a Special Award for his outstanding community services rendered through The Association of Indians in America. His association with AIA for the last thirty years has offered him several opportunities to serve the organization in various capacities including Vice Chair of The Council on Medical Affairs, President of the New York chapter, Chairperson of the Life Membership Committee, member of the National Executive Committee, National Chairperson of the Celebration of India's 50th Independence Anniversary, National President of AIA and its Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Dr. Kukar was the Founder of the SMS Medical college Alumni Association, which subsequently evolved into the Rajasthan Medical Alumni Association. He has been recipient of many awards, including the News India Times Leadership Award, the Shanti Fund Unique Achievement Award, the Excellence in Teaching Award and the Vision & Leadership Award.

He continues to engage in private practice of medicine as a specialist in diabetes and endocrinology.

Dr. Kukar was presented by Mrs. Kalpna Singh & Shanti S. Agarwal, M.D.